Abbas A. Hyderi, MD, MPH, who was recently appointed vice dean for education and professor of family medicine, School of Medicine, is a 2024 recipient of an Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) annual award, the association announced Tuesday.
Hyderi received the Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award for outstanding contributions to medical education by gifted teachers. Each awardee will receive a $10,000 prize.
Hyderi, who will start at the University of Pittsburgh on Nov. 1, will have responsibility for all aspects of medical education at the School of Medicine, including the medical curriculum, student affairs, scholarships, need-based financial assistance, and other related areas.
Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean, School of Medicine, announced his appointment on Aug. 29.
Hyderi will join Pitt from Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine (KPSOM) in Pasadena, Calif., an innovative new school associated with the Kaiser Permanente health system. It opened in 2020, and he helped build it from the ground up, serving as its founding senior associate dean for medical education and professor of clinical science since July 2018.
He played an instrumental role in helping KPSOM achieve full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). The LCME accrediting authority recognizes medical education programs that lead to medical degrees in the United States and Canada.
Hyderi served as the KPSOM principal investigator and national cochair on a grant from the American Medical Association’s ChangeMedEd Consortium. He is an active member of the AAMC Medical Education Senior Leaders Steering Committee.
One area of focus for Hyderi, a family medicine physician and a nationally known leader in education and health care, has been teaching medical students how to provide care for LGBTQ+ individuals and those at risk for or living with HIV. He authored and advocated for the passage of Oregon House Bill 2706 of the 73rd Oregon Legislative Assembly in 2005, which shifted HIV testing for pregnant women to an opt-out approach. The law went into effect in January 2006. He has also composed more than 150 peer-reviewed presentations and publications on issues related to medical education, DEI, HIV and LGBTQ+ health.
Throughout his career, Hyderi has won numerous teaching awards, including the 2010 Family Medicine Teacher of the Year Award issued by the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians and the 2016 University of Illinois College of Medicine Alumni Council Emerging Innovator of the Year Award for curricular innovation and incorporating LGBTQ+ health into the curriculum. He has also won the 2003 American Academy of Family Physicians Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education.
Hyderi studied biological anthropology as an undergraduate at Harvard University and received his MD from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. Upon his graduation, it created the Abbas Hyderi Leadership Award, which is still given annually to two students in each class. Hyderi completed his residency in the combined family medicine and preventive medicine program at Oregon Health & Science University, where he also earned an MPH from Portland State University in health administration and policy in 2005.
There will be a Virtual Recognition Event for all 2024 AAMC award recipients on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, from 4-5:15 p.m. ET. The event is free to attend, but registration is required at: https://aamc-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_07rQIaaxSfihJpAcw1hCsQ