Lisa Willett, M.D., MACM, has been awarded the 2024 Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching. This annual award, hosted by the UAB Office of the Provost, celebrates a UAB faculty member who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to teaching.
Willett, who serves as the Department of Medicine’s executive vice chair as well as vice chair for Education and Faculty Development, was selected for her commitment to and significant impact upon clinical training initiatives, whether through the creation of new residency tracks or exploring issues related to resident life. 
Lisa Willett, M.D., MACM, has been awarded the 2024 Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching.
Willet’s nomination packet included praise for her leadership skills and capacity for innovation. “Dr. Willett has shown great leadership by embracing the wellbeing of the residents at UAB with a number of innovative programs that I believe have moved UAB to the forefront of such efforts at the national level and created a vibrant environment of work that is balanced with life outside of training,” wrote Gustavo R. Heudebert, M.D., MACP, past interim dean of the Montgomery Regional Medical Campus and himself a former recipient of the Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching. “She has accomplished those myriads of tasks by galvanizing the educational leadership of the department and the residents, a testament to her incredible leadership skills.”
Willett has had significant impact on medical education at the national level. For example, her team collaborated with the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) to support female residents on maternity leave, such that extended residency training is no longer required if they meet competency-based milestones and stay within the ABIM allowance. This was life changing for female residents who desired having children in residency, especially if they planned on fellowship training after residency.
"I have benefited from incredible mentors and sponsors. They cared for me, invested in me, and gave me countless opportunities. As tribute to them, and with gratitude for all they have taught me, I hope I have passed on some of that to the next generation, and they will then pass it on to the next."— Lisa Willett, M.D., MACM
“Dr. Willett is not one to rest on the laurels of a successful program or curriculum. She is always looking for ways to innovate and advance medical education,” wrote Carlos A. Estrada, M.D., M.S., professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine. “The educational mission thrives and excels with a well-functioning infrastructure. Dr. Willett has been a key architect in the design and building of our home.”
Willett completed the Masters of Academic Medicine Program at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles in 2015. After studying biomedical engineering at Tulane University, she earned her medical degree from UAB in 1996. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at UAB and became a chief medical resident and instructor in 1999. Over the course of her career, Willett has trained more than 1,000 residents, which includes those from the Department of Medicine as well as from other specialties such as pediatrics, neurology, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, psychiatry, and others.
“Dr. Willett is a true leader in every sense of the word,” noted Jason L. Morris, M.D., FACP, associate director of the Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency Program and a former resident who trained under Willett. “She looked after the residents’ wellbeing with a sort of subtle fierceness that was both eye opening and admirable for its style and effectiveness.”
“I’m so very proud of the quality of training that we have developed in our residency at UAB, and the people that have chosen to train here,” Willett said. “It’s been a great team effort, and I am proud to have mentored many of the great educational leaders at UAB and those now at other institutions. None of my achievements were done by me—they are a result of a wonderful team.”
"Dr. Willett is not one to rest on the laurels of a successful program or curriculum. She is always looking for ways to innovate and advance medical education," wrote Carlos A. Estrada, M.D., M.S., professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine.
Willett has had an impact across UAB’s Heersink School of Medicine and its tripartite mission, which includes education, research, and patient care. She has also played an integral role in training, recruitment and retention.
“I have benefited from incredible mentors and sponsors,” said Willett. “They cared for me, invested in me, and gave me countless opportunities. As tribute to them, and with gratitude for all they have taught me, I hope I have passed on some of that to the next generation, and they will then pass it on to the next.”
To receive the Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching, nominees must be former recipients of the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching and have served UAB for 20 or more years as full-time regular faculty members. This is UAB’s highest award for teaching.
