The SHEA Spring Speaker Recognition Program is a peer-driven distinction program that pays tribute to excellent and engaging speakers and top sessions identified during the conference. Recipients will receive recognition from SHEA’s President. Every attendee will be able to provide their vote on the best of the best! The Speaker Recognition Award categories are as follows:
The Best Session Award recognizes an outstanding session, within the full conference program, that most consistently represents the topic and objectives of the named session. Each of the speakers during this session has contributed significantly to the overall educational value and presented it in an effective manner. Individual presentations within the session may have some differences in style but should be supportive and complementary of the others.
Criteria: Overall impression of the session should be noteworthy for consistent excellence amongst all the individual presentations as well as collaborative and supportive in content.
2026: The Art of Influencing Without Formal Authority
2025:Mahmood Bhutta, FRCS, DPhil, Shira Abeles, MD, Preeti Jaggi, MD
2024: Peter Hotez, MD, MHP
2023: Jasmine Marcelin, MD; Lauren Sauer, MSc
2022: Ibukun Kalu, MD; Jasmine Marcelin, MD; Loretta Christensen, MD
The Notable New Speaker Award recognizes a new speaker to SHEA Spring Conference that presents an outstanding and noteworthy session including speakers within the full conference. A “new” speaker is determined as someone who hasn’t presented in a previous SHEA Spring Conference, limited to the three years prior.
Criteria: The notable new speaker’s presentation should represent the topic and objectives and be presented in an effective manner. This award should highlight someone whom you would enjoy hearing again in the future.
2026: Top Papers in Antimicrobial Stewardship and Healthcare Epidemiology
2025: Carlos Franco-Paredes, MD, MPH, DTMH
2024: Tania Bubb, PhD, RN, CIC
2023: Scott Curry, MD, MS
2022: Sonali Advani, MBBS, MPH
This award recognizes the speaker in each Training Course who best exemplifies the most effective speaker providing expertise, inspiration, and creativity in the delivery of their presentation.
Criteria: The Training Course Speaker Award should promote active learning and successfully encourage participants to think critically and independently. The speaker should be interactive and effective in covering the topic and objectives. This award should highlight someone whom you would enjoy hearing again in the future.
SHEA Healthcare Epidemiology Training Course
2026: Putting It All Together
Antibiotic Stewardship Training Course
2026: The Complete Steward: Building Credibility, Capability, and Culture
SHEA Healthcare Epidemiology Training Course
2025: Thomas Talbot, MD, MPH
2024: Arjun Srinivasan, MD
2023: Tom Sandora, MD, MPH
2022: Sarah Haessler, MD, MS
Antibiotic Stewardship Training Course
2025: Payal Patel, MD, MPH
2024: James Lewis, PharmD
2023: Priya Nori, MD
2022: Emily Spivak, MD
The Forward-Thinking Speaker Award recognizes the speaker who best inspires the SHEA community to think innovatively and strategically about the future of healthcare epidemiology, infection prevention, and antimicrobial stewardship. This speaker has demonstrated forward-thinking by presenting ideas or strategies that are not only novel today but are likely to shape the future of our practices in the next 5-10 years.
Criteria: The ideal candidate for this award is a speaker whose presentation focuses on groundbreaking concepts or methodologies that have the potential to become essential practices in the near future. This may include innovative technologies, strategies for infection prevention, or new approaches to antimicrobial stewardship that are not yet widely adopted but show significant promise for the future.
2026: Alyssa Castillo, MD
2025: Michael Woodworth, MD, MSc
2024: Gonzalo Bearman, MD, MPH
2023: Hilary Babcock, MD, MPH
2022: Brad Spellberg, MD
Make sure you complete your SHEA Spring evaluation after the conference to provide your input on these awards!
