Dr. Johnson received the award in honor of her extraordinary contributions to medical research, women’s health, health equity, and leadership in science and education. As a physician-scientist, academic leader, and public health advocate, Dr. Johnson has transformed the landscape of healthcare through her integrative vision, groundbreaking research, and lifelong dedication to ensuring that sex and gender are central to science and care.

Dr. Johnson is the president of Wellesley College. She his a member of the National Academy of Medicine, which recently appointed her to its Commission on Investment Imperatives for a Healthy Nation, and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Johnson founded the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where she also served as Chief of the Division of Women’s Health. Her innovative model for sustainable improvements in women’s health—spanning biomedical research, clinical care, health policy, global health, and interdisciplinary education—has become a national blueprint for advancing gender equity in medicine.

Professor Sir Cato T. Laurencin is the University Professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is the Chief Executive Officer of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, a cross-university institute created and named in his honor at the University of Connecticut. He is the co-founder of the W. Montague Cobb/National Medical Association Health Institute and is the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, the leading Journal in the field. He received the Herbert V. Nickens Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges for his work in social justice.