Cynthia Carlsson, MD, MS

Cynthia Carlsson, MD, MS, is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and Director of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute. She is also a Staff Physician at the Madison Veterans Affairs Hospital where she sees patients with memory loss. Dr. Carlsson leads research focusing on early detection and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. She has received research grant support from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the University of Wisconsin, and other organizations and has published over 160 research papers. Dr. Carlsson has been a part of national initiatives to improve dementia research, clinical care, and services for older adults, including serving as Chair for the US Health and Human Services Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services. Through collaborations with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, the Alzheimer’s Association, and other community partners, Dr. Carlsson is engaged in promoting dementia-capable and dementia-friendly initiatives throughout the state of Wisconsin.

Kate Kirley, MD, MS

Kate Kirley, MD, MS, is Director of Chronic Disease Prevention and Programs in the Improving Health Outcomes group at the American Medical Association. She serves as a clinical lead on AMA’s chronic disease prevention initiatives and leads efforts to advance chronic disease prevention by scaling effective QI solutions, advancing quality measurement and interoperability, and improving medical education. Prior to joining the AMA, she was a practicing family physician and health services researcher at NorthShore University HealthSystem, and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Chicago. Until quite recently, she continued to practice in Northwestern Medicine’s Immediate Care Clinics.

Sandra Fryhofer, MD

Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, a board-certified physician of internal medicine, was elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees in June 2018 and served as its chair in 2022–23. A graduate of Emory University School of Medicine, where she is now an adjunct clinical associate professor of medicine, Dr. Fryhofer maintains a full-time general internal medicine practice in Atlanta. As a member of the AMA House of Delegates since 1999, Dr. Fryhofer has been active in the AMA for almost two decades. Twice elected to the AMA Council on Science and Public Health, including serving as its chair in 2012–2013, Dr. Fryhofer has also served as the council’s representative to the Commission to End Health Care Disparities and to the National Influenza Summit. For many years she has also served as the AMA liaison to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, including on work groups for COVID-19, flu, zoster, HPV, cholera, pneumococcal, Tdap and polio vaccines, and the adult schedule. Dr. Fryhofer has chaired the AMA Convention Committee on Rules and Credentials and served on the AMA Select Committee. In her role as trustee, she has been appointed to the Scope of Practice Partnership and as board liaison to the AMA Advisory Committee on LGBTQ Issues, the AMA Minority Affairs Section, the AMA Council on Medical Service, the AMA Senior Physician Section, the AMA Council on Legislation, the AMA Resident and Fellow Section, and the AMA Young Physicians Section. In 2023 she became the first chair of the AMA’s Gun Violence Task Force. In addition to leadership roles at the AMA, Dr. Fryhofer served as president of the American College of Physicians (ACP), the world’s largest medical specialty society. When elected in 2000, she was the youngest person and only the second woman to hold that office in the ACP’s then 85-year history. She also served on the ACP Board of Regents and chaired its Committee on Women’s Health. Her work on behalf of internal medicine was rewarded with a mastership in ACP and a fellowship in Great Britain’s Royal College of Physicians. Dr. Fryhofer, who received her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering with high honors from Georgia Tech, has extensive experience in medical communications. She has testified before Congress and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on several occasions for the AMA and the ACP. A regular contributor to the AMA’s COVID Update/AMA Update video and podcast series, she has served as a national spokesperson for the ACP’s “Doctors for Adults” public education campaign, a medical correspondent for CNN Headline News, and a host of “Your Health Matters” on Georgia’s PBS affiliate. Dr. Fryhofer also wrote “Vital Signs,” a weekly column on the CNN website, in addition to a video editorial series called “Medicine Matters” and a viewpoint series entitled “Staying Well,” both of which appeared on WebMD’s Medscape.