The Watanakunakorn Clinician Award

Named to honor the memory of Dr. Chatrchai Watanakunakorn, this award is given annually by the IDSA Education and Research Foundation to an IDSA member of fellow in recognition of outstanding achievement in the clinical practice of infectious diseases.

Nominees must have spent most of their career working predominantly in direct clinical care, whether private practice or part of a health-system group. The recipient must be in clinical practice, and exhibit excellence in one or more of the following areas:

Clinical care, clinical research, patient or community education, compassion, patient advocacy, general community service, and service to a national or state infectious diseases society. Local recognition in medical journals, newspapers, or magazines will also be taken into consideration.

2021 Winner: Steven W. Parker, MD, FIDSA

Steven W. Parker, MD, FIDSA, a compassionate physician dedicated to his patients and the field of ID medicine, is the recipient of IDSA’s 2021 Watanakunakorn Clinician Award. Named to honor the memory of Chatrchai Watanakunakorn, this award is presented by the IDSA Education and Research Foundation to recognize an IDSA member or fellow for outstanding achievement in the clinical practice of infectious diseases.

In 1984, Dr. Parker founded Sierra Infectious Disease, a medical group that provides high-quality comprehensive ID inpatient consultative and outpatient services, serving all of the major medical centers in Reno, Nevada, and neighboring areas. The practice, which has grown to include five physicians and four advanced practice registered nurses, has negotiated with a number of hospital systems regarding the value of ID services and fair compensation. Using staff that he developed, trained and managed, Dr. Parker also pioneered the establishment of an outpatient infusion center to provide high-quality, lower-cost and efficient care to patients outside of a hospital setting.

These efforts have enabled Dr. Parker’s group of dedicated ID physicians to weather the evolving challenges of maintaining an independent medical practice and to fulfill their mission to serve patients and the community. He has brought this experience to his service on several IDSA committees, including the Clinical Affairs Committee, the Standards and Practice Guidelines Committee, and the Development and Professional Equity Committee. As an IDSA delegate to the American Medical Association since 2010, he has also championed the value of ID physician services.

Dr. Parker’s work in sustaining high-quality ID care in his region for nearly 30 years has paved the way for his peers and greatly benefited patients in Reno and surrounding rural areas who otherwise might not have received the ID care they needed without travelling long distances. The society is pleased to honor him with the 2021 Watanakunakorn Award.

Past Watanakunakorn Clinician Award Winners

2020 Ronald G. Nahass, M.D., MHCM, FIDSA
2019 Virginia D. Banks, MD, MBA, FIDSA
2018 Barry J. Hartman, MD, FIDSA
2017 Douglas R. Osmon, MD, MPH, FIDSA
2016 Wilbert H. Mason, MD, MPH, FIDSA
2015 James Horton, MD, FIDSA
2014  Eliot W. Godofsky, MD
2013 Johan S. Bakken, MD, PhD and Thomas M. File, Jr., MD, MSc
2012 David N. Gilbert, MD, FIDSA
2011 Stan Deresinski, MD, FIDSA
2010     Marvin J. Tenenbaum, MD, FIDSA
2009 Lawrence J. Eron, MD, FIDSA
2008 Michael L. Butera, MD
2007 Timothy T. Kuberski, MD, FIDSA
2006 Barbara H. Wade, MD, FIDSA
2005 James S. Tan, MD
2004 Donald M. Poretz, MD
2003 Steven Jon Berman, MD, FACP and Richard N. Olans, MD
2002 William A. Agger, MD
2001 H. Gunner Deery, MD and Peter T. Frame, MD
2000 Martin C. McHenry, MD, MS and Chatrchai Watanakunakorn, MD
1999 Gonzalo Ballon-Landa, MD and Thomas G. Slama, MD
1998 David S. McKinsey, MD and Daniel J. Sexton, MD
1997 Ramon E. Moncada, MD
1996 George Atkinson, MD Pankey, MD and Alan D. Tice, MD
1995 Ellie J.C. Goldstein, MD
1994 George Thornton, MD
1993 Edward Septimus, MD

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