The awards presented by the medical professional society recognized the advancement of lifestyle medicine in the categories of Residency, Clinical and Innovation, Government, Graduate Education, and Health Systems and Agencies.

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has announced seven recipients of the medical professional society's 2025 Distinguished Special Recognition Awards for outstanding contributions in lifestyle medicine. The awards were presented at ACLM's recent annual conference in Grapevine, Texas, which drew more than 5,000 attendees.

"Special Recognition Award honorees have demonstrated clear and measurable contributions to the growth, credibility and application of lifestyle medicine," Chair of the 2025 ACLM Awards Selection Committee Sami A. Bég, MD, MPA, MPH, FACLM, DipABLM, said. "On behalf of ACLM, it is a privilege to recognize these exceptional honorees for their vision and leadership in creating a world wherein lifestyle medicine is the foundation of health and all health care."

This year's honorees represent excellence in five categories: Health Systems/Agencies, Government, Clinical and Innovations, Graduate Education, and Residency:

Health System/Agency: American Psychiatric Association
Under the leadership of President Ramaswamy Viswanathan, MD, DMedSc, and through the dedicated advocacy of Gia Merlo, MD, MEd, MBA, DipABLM, FACLM, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has taken systemwide steps to formalize lifestyle psychiatry as an essential component of mental health care. Their efforts have elevated the role of evidence-based lifestyle interventions within psychiatric practice, strengthened professional awareness across APA's national membership, and helped pave the way for broader integration of lifestyle medicine principles into behavioral health settings.

Government: Texas Senator Lois Kolkhorst
Texas State Senator Lois Kolkhorst, joined by 38 bipartisan co-sponsors, championed Texas Senate Bill 25, a landmark legislation signed into law in June 2025. SB 25 strengthens health and nutrition statewide by requiring warning labels on food products containing specific chemicals, expanding nutrition education for health professionals, increasing physical activity in public schools, and establishing the Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee to guide evidence-based, state-specific nutrition standards. Senator Kolkhorst has set a bold example for integrating lifestyle medicine principles into government action and improving community health.

Clinical and Innovations: Creighton University
Creighton University is honored for embedding lifestyle medicine across academic, clinical, and community settings. Creighton's pioneering work began in 2001 with the introduction of lifestyle medicine concepts into its pharmacy curriculum, followed by the publication "Lifestyle Modifications in Pharmacotherapy." The establishment of a lifestyle medicine clinic in 2008 under the direction of Tom Lenz, PharmD, MA, FACLM, provided an early clinical model that helped lay the groundwork for lifestyle medicine–focused residency, graduate and undergraduate programs, and impactful community-based initiatives, including the Creighton Highlander Food Pharmacy.

Graduate Education (Master's Program): UNT Health Fort Worth
UNT Health Fort Worth created one of the nation's first graduate-level programs dedicated to the impact of lifestyle medicine in health care, a groundbreaking achievement that expands educational pathways for future clinicians and health professionals. Under the leadership of Misti Zablosky, PhD, LAT, CHWC, DipACLM, and Debbie Gillespie, EdD, RDN, FNAP, NBC-HWC, DipACLM, the Master of Science in Lifestyle Health Sciences and Coaching program has set a powerful precedent for institutions nationwide and established UNT Health Fort Worth as a model for integrating lifestyle medicine into advanced academic curricula.

Residency (Canada): Université Laval
Université Laval in Québec is the first institution in Canada to establish a lifestyle medicine residency program. This achievement–championed by Caroline Rhéaume, MD, MSc, PhD, DipABLM, DipIBLM–marks a pivotal advancement in medical education, equipping emerging physicians with the skills to address the root causes of chronic disease through evidence-based lifestyle interventions. By embedding lifestyle medicine at the residency level within the Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine Department at the Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval is helping shape the future of health care in Canada and setting a powerful example for academic institutions around the world.

Residency (United States): Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University (LLU) was one of the first institutions to implement the Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum (LMRC), an achievement that exemplifies Loma Linda's long-standing commitment to advancing lifestyle medicine education. Propelled by dedicated faculty members like Karen Studer, MD, MPH, MBA, DipABLM, FACLM, LLU has become a national leader in integrating lifestyle medicine into graduate medical training. Through these initiatives, LLU, which co-owns the LMRC with ACLM, is empowering future clinicians with the knowledge and skills to deliver whole-person care and pursue certification in lifestyle medicine.

Graduate Education (Academic Pathway): Point Loma Nazarene University
Point Loma Nazarene University was recognized for being the first institution in the nation to implement ACLM's Full Academic Pathway. The curriculum of this innovative graduate program, developed and directed by Jessica Matthews, DBH, NBC-HWC, DipACLM, FACLM, has created a powerful opportunity for students to begin their journey toward lifestyle medicine certification while still in school—an advancement that strengthens the future health care workforce and expands access to evidence-based lifestyle medicine training.

About ACLM®
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is the nation's medical professional society advancing the field of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a redesigned, value-based and equitable healthcare delivery system, essential to achieving the Quintuple Aim and whole-person health. ACLM represents, advocates for, trains, certifies, and equips its members to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease by optimizing modifiable risk factors. ACLM is filling the gaping void of lifestyle medicine in medical education, providing more than 1.2 million hours of lifestyle medicine education to physicians and other health professionals since 2004, while also advancing research, clinical practice and reimbursement strategies.

Media Contact

Alex Branch, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, 8173072399, abranch@lifestylemedicine.org, American College of Lifestyle Medicine

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