Anna Wald receives Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award
Dr. Anna Wald, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is the 2026 recipient of the Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). She received this award in recognition of her outstanding contributions, dedication, and exceptional leadership within the infectious diseases community.
Named to honor the late Walter E. Stamm, a past IDSA president, this award recognizes individuals who have served as exemplary mentors. It is presented to an IDSA member or fellow who has been exceptional in guiding the professional growth of infectious diseases professionals.
A physician-scientist and inspirational mentor, Wald is an exceptional administrator, communicator and advisor to all levels of faculty. She has focused her research on herpes simplex virus infection. For many years, she directed the University of Washington Virology Research Clinic.
Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS CoV-2 studies have become an important component of her research portfolio, and her research clinic was selected to join the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium as a Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit.
She headed the Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine from 2017 to 2026, stepping away from this administrative role this past summer. While conducting large-scale efforts related to HSV infections, she has continually prioritized mentoring, having taken over leadership of the hugely impactful T32 NIH training grant.
Wald has leveraged her training skills to help advance the careers of undergraduates, predoctoral students, fellows, faculty and administrative staff, covering the fields of medicine, epidemiology and public health. Possessing a unique ability to put mentees at ease, she has established diverse multidisciplinary research teams to welcome trainees with diverse backgrounds into the research community. She has worked both nationally and internationally, including teaching manuscript and grant workshops for trainees in Nairobi and Uganda.
A member of CDC’s STD Guidelines Committee since 1997, she led the HSV treatment guidelines discussions. She was awarded the prestigious K24 mentor award grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
In recognition of her extraordinary dedication to mentoring and developing future leaders, IDSA is proud to recognize Dr. Anna Wald with the 2026 Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award.