WFF to present Marcella Nunez-Smith, MD, MHS, with the 2026 Elga R. Wasserman Award at our Annual Reception

The Women Faculty Forum is delighted to announce that Marcella Nunez-Smith, MD, MHS,(Link is external) Associate Dean for Health Equity Research, C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine, Epidemiology, and of Public Health has been selected to receive the 2026 Elga R. Wasserman Courage, Clarity, and Leadership Award at our annual reception, Wednesday, October 14, 2026.

The Wasserman Award recognizes the powerful contributions of women faculty and staff who are committed to strengthening the breadth, depth and the inclusivity of our university constituencies.  Elga Wasserman led the way in articulating and advancing the highest aspirations of Yale University.  Each year, WFF honors a Yale woman who has continued on that path, impacting and empowering the community around her.

Dr. Nunez-Smith exemplifies the qualities honored by the Wasserman Award through her long-term commitment to public health, access to healthcare, and her leadership both inside the University, here in Connecticut, nationally and globally. 
She has contributed to this work through research, clinical practice, and policy leadership.  Her work is continually creative and ground-breaking, taking on the challenge of creating academic and community partnerships to address structural factors that impede access to health care for a diverse array of groups. 

Her work also proved essential to our nation’s response to Covid-19 as she served as a co-chair of the Biden-Harris Covid-19 Transition Team and as Senior Advisor to the White House and Chair of the Presidential Covid-19 Health Equity Task Force at HHS.