Dr. Young-Walker earns 2026 AAMC Presidential Award

Laine Young-Walker, MD, chair of the University of Missouri School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, was recently among the recipients of the 2026 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Presidential Awards.

The annual awards honor individuals and institutions who have made significant contributions to medical education, research, clinical care, and community engagement, and strengthened the academic health care workforce to reflect the nation’s patients and communities.

Young-Walker was named this year’s AAMC Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Award recipient. The honor is given to an individual who demonstrates, through their leadership, a commitment to promoting a health care workforce that includes people of all backgrounds and perspectives.

Watch Dr. Young-Walker’s acceptance speech

Sullivan served as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services from 1989-93 and was the founding dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine. He also founded the Sullivan Alliance, which aims to strengthen the capacity and quality of the United States’ health care workforce by including people from underrepresented populations in every area of health care and across all aspects of academic health centers.

Young-Walker has made significant contributions to the mental health of children and adolescents in communities across Missouri with her varied initiatives addressing early childhood intervention, access to child and perinatal psychiatry, trauma-informed care, and support for children in the foster care system.

As principal investigator, responsible for more than $25 million in federal and state grants, Young-Walker has translated her vision for improved access and care for youth mental health into evidence-based action targeting rural families, children in foster care, youth in the juvenile justice system, and mothers navigating perinatal mental health challenges.

In 2025, Young-Walker helped launch Mizzou’s Center for Child Well-Being, which supports parents, caregivers, childcare professionals and community organizations in fostering the mental health and well-being of children.

In addition to her clinical work, Young-Walker served as associate dean for student affairs at the Mizzou School of Medicine from 2016-24. In that role, she led admissions reforms that fundamentally changed how the medical school recruited students from marginalized backgrounds.

Young-Walker’s honors and professional affiliations include lifetime membership in the Gold Humanism Honor Society and Alpha Omega Alpha, fellowship in the American College of Psychiatrists, and membership in the National Medical Association.