UC Davis Distinguished Professor Emeritus Kenneth W. Kizer has received the 2025 David Rall Medal from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). The internationally acclaimed health care reformer was honored for his exceptional leadership and service. This medal is awarded to a NAM member who has demonstrated particularly distinguished leadership as a chair of a study committee.

Since being elected to NAM in 1999, Kizer has chaired numerous studies, committees and planning groups. More recently, Kizer chaired the committee behind the 2022 report “Realizing the Promise of Equity in the Organ Transplantation System.”

This report has made a major impact on the field of organ donation. Based on its findings, The United Network for Organ Sharing has updated its kidney transplant algorithm to improve equity. The Health Resources and Services Administration has also launched the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Modernization Initiative in 2025. The initiative includes increasing the number of transplants performed in the U.S. to 60,000 in 2026.

Recently, Kizer chaired a NAM study on “Advancing Face and Hand Transplantation.” The study’s report, released June 2025, found that many doctors were not aware that facial transplantation is a viable treatment option for some grievously disfigured patients.

 A legacy of transformational leadership and service

Kizer is a nationally recognized leader in health system reform, patient safety and public health. His career spans academia, government. philanthropy and the private sector.

He joined UC Davis in 1984 as a faculty member in the School of Medicine. In the early 1990s, he served as a professor and chair of the Department of Community and International Health and a professor of emergency medicine. Kizer was also the first director of the Institute for Population Health Improvement at UC Davis Health. Now, he is a distinguished professor emeritus in the School of Medicine.

Kizer has also served as undersecretary for health in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He is credited with bringing profound transformation and reform to the VA health care system. He is also the founding CEO of the National Quality Forum and has held multiple leadership roles in several California health agencies. He holds the record as California’s longest serving top health official (from 1984-1991).

Kizer is a senior scholar at Stanford University. He recently concluded a term as a member of the Board of Regents at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

He is board certified in six specialties and subspecialties and has authored over 500 publications. He has received numerous awards and honors, including NAM’s highest award, the Gustav O. Lienhard Medal for the Advancement of Health Care in the United States. In addition to being a member of the National Academy of Medicine, he is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. He was named one of the “100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare” multiple times by Modern Healthcare.

Read more about NAM’s announcement.