New in 2017, The D.A. Henderson Award for Outstanding contributions to Public Health will recognize a lifetime of achievement in public health. Dr. Henderson’s role in leading the successful eradication of smallpox will stand forever as a shining example of the profound impact that infectious disease physicians and scientists can have in preventing disease and relieving human suffering. By naming this award in his honor we hope to inspire others to become champions for public health throughout the world.
2021 Winner: Lawrence C. Madoff, MD, FIDSA
Lawrence C. Madoff, MD, FIDSA, a champion of public health, is the recipient of IDSA’s 2021 D.A. Henderson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Health. Named to honor the memory of Dr. Henderson, who led the successful eradication of smallpox, this award recognizes a lifetime of achievement in public health.
As medical director of the Massachusetts Department of Health’s Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, Dr. Madoff has been a key leader of the state’s COVID-19 response, including coordinating SARS-CoV-2 testing and updating the public on developments in the pandemic. In this role, he has also provided medical oversight for physicians, epidemiologists and public health nurses and assisted in the development of public policy for monitoring and controlling infectious diseases of public importance.
For nearly 20 years before stepping down in 2021, Dr. Madoff also served as editor of ProMED-mail, created by the International Society for Infectious Diseases to quickly identify unusual health events related to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and toxins affecting humans, animals and plants. He oversaw a network of more than 45 health professionals around the world whose alerts often provide the first critical early warnings of these events. More than 85,000 subscribers in nearly every country depend on these timely reports.
In addition to his work in public health at the state and international levels, Dr. Madoff is a professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and also attends on the inpatient ID consult service at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. As a mentor, he has demonstrated tireless dedication to his trainees and to promoting the next generation of epidemiologists and ID physicians.
Deeply committed to patient care and to public and global health throughout his career, Dr. Madoff has received multiple awards and honors. IDSA is proud to add the 2021 D.A. Henderson Award to his long list of accomplishments.
Past D.A. Henderson Award Winners
| 2020 | Carol Dukes Hamilton, M.D., MHS, FIDSA |
| 2019 | Catherine M. Wilfert, MD, FIDSA |
| 2018 | William Schaffner, MD, FIDSA, FSHEA |
| 2017 | F. Marc LaForce, MD, FIDSA |