Press release from the American College of Physicians (ACP)

PHILADELPHIA — Betty M. Drees, MD, FACP, has been awarded the Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell Award for Outstanding Contributions to Advancing the Careers of Women in Medicine by the American College of Physicians (ACP), a national organization of internists.

Established in 2017, this award is bestowed upon an ACP member for distinguished contributions to advancing the careers of women in medicine. This award recognizes an individual who has furthered the careers of women medical students, residents, and/or physicians through mentoring and leadership development.

Dr. Drees is a board-certified endocrinologist with 30 years of experience who works at University Health in Kansas City, Missouri. She is a Fellow of the ACP and the American College of Endocrinology. She is a professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Medicine's Departments of Internal Medicine and Biomedical and Health Informatics. Previously, she served as Dean of the School from 2001 to 2014 and continues to teach endocrinology to medical students, residents, and fellows at UMKC. Dr. Drees is the President of the Graduate School of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, which offers education and training leading to a doctorate in biology. She is the immediate past president of the Kansas City Medical Society. Dr. Drees has been named one of Kansas City's Most Accomplished and Successful Women (2008) and an icon of education by Ingram's Magazine (2019). She is passionate about community well-being and diabetes prevention. Dr. Drees's research focuses on improving metabolic health and diabetes prevention.

About the American College of Physicians

The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 161,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness.

About the Graduate School of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research

The mission of the Graduate School of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research (GSSIMR) is to prepare a superb cadre of predoctoral researchers from around the world for the pursuit of innovative and creative investigations in the biological sciences. The GSSIMR predoctoral research program stresses critical thinking and the rapid development of experimental prowess. The program also focuses on in-depth understanding of the latest methodologies and approaches. The Graduate School is designed to provide predoctoral researchers with mentorship and hands-on experience to refine their abilities to carry out independent biological research. The Graduate School welcomed its first class in the fall of 2012, and in 2016 the first predoctoral researcher completed the PhD program. Learn more about this unique program at www.stowers.org/gradschool and on Facebook and Twitter.