Smith was at the forefront of creating patient and family councils that advise individual Vanderbilt hospital entities from the patient/family perspective.

Skaar, who directs the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation, is being recognized for “pioneering work at the intersection of nutrition and infectious diseases."

The Young Physician-Scientist Award recognizes “notable achievements” by researchers who are within five years of their first faculty appointment.

The award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers in the early stages of their research careers.

Mr. Wills was noted for his substantial civic contributions to Nashville and his efforts to record and preserve the history of the city that five generations of the Wills family have called home.

Kelly Mathis, BSN, RN, works in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. She is one of the latest DAISY Award winners at VUMC.

He helped build one of the leading kidney transplant programs in the country, both in terms of the number of transplants performed annually, and in long-term organ function and patient survival rates.