The Leadership Learning Curve

Vidhya Prakash, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FAMWA, is chief medical officer and associate dean of clinical affairs and population health at SIU Medicine, where she oversees clinical operations for more than 300 physicians, 400 residents and fellows, and 1, 500 staff across central and southern Illinois. A board-certified infectious diseases specialist and professor of clinical internal medicine at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Prakash combines clinical expertise with proven healthcare executive leadership. Prakash is founder and director of SIU Medicine's Alliance for Women in Medicine (AWIMS), which has received national recognition including the AMA's Joan F. Giambalvo Grant for the Advancement of Women. She has served as chair of the Illinois Department of Public Health's Diversity in Health Care Task Force and chair of the Health and Healthcare Committee for the Illinois Council on Women and Girls. An active leader in national organizations, Prakash serves as secretary of the American Medical Women's Association Board and on multiple hospital and healthcare organization boards. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Prakash completed her internal medicine residency and infectious diseases fellowship at the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium. She served as an infectious diseases physician at Wright-Patterson Medical Center. She has completed executive education programs at Harvard Kennedy School, including the Executive Certificate in Public Leadership and the Women Leading Change Program, and is a graduate of the AAMC Chief Medical Officers Leadership Academy. Prakash's commitment to mentorship, gender equity, and transformational leadership has earned her numerous honors, including the American Medical Women's Association Leadership Council Inspire Award, the American College of Physicians Women in Medicine Award, and selection to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. She is a fellow of the American Medical Women's Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the American College of Physicians.