The J.E. Wallace Sterling
Lifetime Achievement Award in Medicine
In the summer of 1953, J. E. Wallace Sterling, president of Stanford University, persuaded the university trustees to move the School of Medicine from San Francisco to the main Palo Alto campus. The school was moved in 1959, and was transformational in its bringing together, in one location, the resources and pioneering breakthroughs of the School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital, and Stanford University. Stanford Medicine grew steadily in national stature until it attained and now holds a respected place in the front ranks of medical education, scientific achievement, and clinical medicine.
Many years following the move to campus, retired faculty surgeon Gunther W. Nagel, MD ’21, proposed that the school establish an award in Sterling’s name to recognize a distinguished graduate. In 1983, the Stanford Medicine Alumni Association Board of Governors conferred the first J. E. Wallace Sterling Lifetime Achievement Award, now presented annually to a Stanford University School of Medicine MD graduate in recognition of exceptional lifetime achievement in medicine.
2026 Award Recipient
Joseph A. Sachs, MA ’85, MD ’85
Joseph Sachs, MD, is an emergency physician, Emmy Award-winning television writer, and
executive producer of the HBO Max series “The Pitt.” He began his interdisciplinary career as a medical student at the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he simultaneously pursued a master’s degree in filmmaking. After graduation, Dr. Sachs completed a residency in emergency medicine and internal medicine at UCLA.
Dr. Sachs’ television career began in 1994 as a technical adviser with the acclaimed NBC series “ER.” He remained with the program throughout its 15-year run, eventually serving as executive producer and writing a total of 35 episodes. In 2023, Dr. Sachs joined HBO Max’s “The Pitt,” writing multiple episodes across the show’s first three seasons. His 2025 episode “2:00 P.M.” won the Humanitas Prize for best drama teleplay, an award honoring writers whose work explores the human condition with nuance and meaning. Dr. Sachs is also the recipient of the Peabody Award, as well as awards from both the Writers Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America for his work on “The Pitt.” In 2026, he was named to the Time100 list as one of the world’s most influential people in health.
Throughout his career as a television writer, Dr. Sachs has maintained a part-time practice in emergency medicine at a designated trauma center for Los Angeles County, even attending to the most critical patients during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. While writing compelling drama always comes first, his commitment to state-of-the-art medical accuracy has created a positive impact on both professional and public health education all around the world.
Video Tribute to 2025 Award Recipient
Linda M. Liau, MD ’91, PhD, MBA
Video Tributes to 2024 Award Recipients
Michael P. Link, MD '74
Edward B. Stinson, ’60, MD ’65
Video Tributes to 2023 Award Recipients
George Demetri, MD '83
Robert C. Malenka, PhD ’82, MD ’83
Video Tributes to 2022 Award Recipients
Sharon Hunt, MD ’72
Yvonne A. Maldonado, MD ’81
Video Tributes to 2021 Award Recipients
Karl Deisseroth, PhD ’98, MD ’00
D. Craig Miller, MD ’72
Video Tributes to 2019 Award Recipients
Charles A. Czeisler, PhD '78, MD '81
Michael Rutledge DeBaun MD ’87, MS ‘87
Video Tributes to 2018 Award Recipients
Lori A. Alvord, MD ’85, Resident ’91
Michael A. Caligiuri, MS ’81, MD ’83
Video Tributes to 2017 Award Recipients
Diana W. Bianchi, MD ’80
Max S. Wicha, MD ’74
Video Tributes to 2016 Award Recipients
Nancy Lee Harris, BS ’65, MD ’70
Gary K. Steinberg, PhD ’79, MD ’80
Past Sterling Award Recipients
1983
Esther Clark, MD ’25
1984
Donald E. King, MD ’27
Carleton Mathewson Jr., MD ’27
1985
David Rytand, MD ’33
1987
Sherman Mellinkoff, MD ’44
1988
David Wood, MD ’30
1989
Gunther Nagel, MD ’21
Wilbur Hurlbut, MD ’38
1990
Roy B. Cohn, MD ’33
Robert E. Tranquada, MD ’55
1991
Alvin Cox Jr., MD ’31
Marcus A. Krupp, MD ’39
1992
Victor Richards, MD ’39
Sidney Raffel, MD ’43
1993
Cecil C. Cutting, MD ’35
William P. Creger, MD ’47
1995
Richard S. Lee, MD ’45
Peter V. Lee, MD ’47
Philip R. Lee, MD ’48
Hewlett Lee, MD ’49
Margo Lee Paulsen, MD ’53
1996
Allan Goodman, MD ’61
1998
Thomas N. Elmendorf, MD ’45
Jack McCleary, MD ’51
Robert D. Burnett, MD ’53
Eugene S. Ogrod II, MD ’70
1999
Donald Tsang, MD ’57
Norman Rich, MD ’60
2000
Irving Weissman, MD ’65
2001
F. William Blaisdell, MD ’52
2003
William R. Brody, MD ’70, PhD ’72
2004
Ronald Levy, MD ’68
2005
William Northway, MD ’57
2006
Frances K. Conley, MD ’66
Augustus A. White, III, MD ’61
2007
Linda Hawes Clever, MD ’65
J.D. Northway, MD ’60
2008
Laurence A. Boxer, MD ’66
Donald J. Prolo, III, MD ’61
2009
Paul M. Ellwood, Jr., MD ’53
Robert Schimke, MD ’58
2010
Ross D. Bright, MD ’58
2011
Diane E. Griffin, MD ’68, PhD ’70
John Griffin, MD ’68
2012
Fernando S. Mendoza, MD ’75
Jose I. Santos, MD ’75
2013
Linda C. Giudice, MD ’82
Ron G. Rosenfeld, MD ’73
2014
Debra A. Schwinn, MD ’83
2015
Linda M. Boxer, MD ’81, PhD ’81
2016
Nancy Lee Harris, BA ’65, MD ’70
Gary K. Steinberg, PhD ’79, MD ’80
2017
Diana W. Bianchi, MD '80
Max S. Wicha, MD '74
2018
Lori A. Alvord, MD ’85, Resident ’91
Michael A. Caligiuri, MS ’81, MD ’83
2019
Charles A. Czeisler, PhD ’78, MD ’81
Michael Rutledge DeBaun MD ’87, MS ’87
2021
Karl Deisseroth, PhD ’98, MD ’00
D. Craig Miller, MD ’72
2022
Sharon Hunt, MD ’72
Yvonne A. Maldonado, MD ’81
2023
George Demetri, MD '83
Robert C. Malenka, PhD ’82, MD ’83
2024
Michael P. Link, MD '74
Edward B. Stinson, ’60, MD ’65
2025
Linda M. Liau, MD ’91, PhD, MBA