The ATS is pleased to recognize Lauren Kearney, MD as the recipient of the 2025 Ziskind Clinical Research Scholar Award
The Ziskind Clinical Research Scholar Award is named in honor of Morton Ziskind, MD, a highly respected clinician and researcher from Tulane University who died in 1979. Dr. Ziskind, a long-time ATS member, was known for nurturing fellows and helping them become outstanding clinicians and clinical researchers. Learn more about the award.

Lauren Kearney, MD is a pulmonary and critical care fellow at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and research fellow at the Veterans Affairs Center for Health Optimization and Implementation Research in Boston. She earned her MD from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency at Boston University Medical Center, where she also served as Chief Medical Resident.
Dr. Kearney’s research leverages mixed methods and community-engaged approaches to develop and assess culturally tailored interventions that address disparities in tobacco use and lung cancer screening. Her work aims to advance early detection of lung cancer, increase access to preventive care and treatment, and reduce health disparities by addressing systemic barriers faced by underserved communities. Recently, she was awarded the prestigious Charles A. King Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to co-design and pilot CEASE-Smoking, an intervention focused on integrating tobacco cessation into community health worker workflows to improve care delivery and reduce tobacco-related health disparities.