Meet the 2026 Awardee: Michael W. Sjoding, MD
Michael Sjoding, MD is a practicing pulmonary and critical care physician and R01-funded investigator at the University of Michigan. His research spans critical care epidemiology, health services research, translational science, and artificial intelligence. Using routinely collected electronic health record and imaging data, his work aims to improve diagnosis, care delivery, and outcomes for critically ill patients. He led seminal investigations uncovering racial bias in pulse oximetry accuracy, work that transformed national understanding of device equity and patient safety and helped spur new U. S. Food and Drug Administration guidance on pulse oximeter pre-market evaluation. More broadly, his research has advanced the use of artificial intelligence in pulmonary and critical care medicine, including the development and evaluation of AI tools designed to support clinical diagnosis. He also led influential studies examining how clinicians interact with AI tools and how these tools can impact clinician decision-making. As Associate Director for Research Implementation in the University of Michigan’s AI & Digital Health Initiative, he helps translate promising AI tools into clinical practice, overseeing their implementation and evaluation in real-world care settings.
Description
This award is given to an individual with a clear commitment to the Critical Care Assembly and the ATS, with demonstrated significant and meaningful contributions to the CCA in the area(s) of research, clinical care, quality improvement, teaching, mentoring, promoting diversity, advocacy, and/or service. The awardee will be honored at the CC Assembly gathering at the ATS International Conference.
Criteria
Candidate should be:
- An active clinician or investigator in critical care medicine between ~10-16 years of completion of training (i.e., fellowship or terminal doctoral degree, whichever was completed/awarded latest)
- A CCA member (primary or secondary).
- Contributions to the CC Assembly in the form of committee participation or leadership, promoting CCA diversity, and/or otherwise advancing the CCA’s mission will be viewed favorably.
The nomination package must include a nomination letter touching on all four scoring metrics (see below scoring rubric) from one or more members of ATS describing why the award is merited. Nominators should note in their letter any extenuating circumstances affecting the nominee. The curriculum vitae from the candidate must also be included with the nomination packet. Unawarded nominations from prior years do not carry over and should be resubmitted; previous awardees are not eligible for the same award.
Example Nomination Letters
Carol L Hodgson, PhD, MPhil, PT, 2023 Awardee
Scoring Rubric
Applicants are scored on 4 criteria using a 1-5 rating system (with 1 being the best) across the below categories. In the event that none of the nominees in a given category receive an average score ≤3, the Planning Committee may choose to defer granting an award in that category that year. If the Planning Committee does not receive any eligible nominations in a given category (e.g., CCA member, active clinician/investigator for roughly the stated time frame), the Committee may choose to nominate an individual, who must be unanimously approved by all members in order to receive the award.
- Scientific Contributions/Products (which may include: research articles, data, reagents, software, and intellectual property)
- Teaching/Mentoring/Educational/Advocacy Contributions
- Participation in Assembly and ATS Activities (administrative, committees, workshops etc.)
- Overall impact/impression of dossier submitted for award application