May 2026 Experts Highlights & Announcements

Lantz, former IHPI Policy Engagement & External Relations faculty lead, retires from U-M

Paula Lantz, Ph.D., M.S., M.A., professor of public policy at the Ford School, and former IHPI Policy Engagement & External Relations faculty lead, whose work has helped shape national conversations about social determinants of health, will retire from the University of Michigan on May 31, 2026. Lantz held several leadership positions at the Ford School, including associate dean of academic affairs (2016-2021), associate dean of research and policy engagement (2015-2016), and undergraduate program director (2022-2025). She also served as chair of the School of Public Health Department of Health Management & Policy (2005-2011), directed U-M's Robert Wood Johnson Scholars in Health Policy Research Fellowship Program (2002-2011). In retirement, Lantz plans to continue teaching in a limited capacity, writing policy opinion pieces, and supporting amicus briefs with research and evidence.

Markovitz, Agarwal, and Chaitoff recognized with Milton W. Hamolsky Award at National SGIM Meeting

Three faculty from the Division of General Medicine were recognized at the 2026 National Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) annual meeting for their outstanding research presentations. Adam Markovitz, M.D., Ph.D., and Sumit Agarwal, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., were awarded the Milton W. Hamolsky Award, and Alexander Chaitoff, M.D., M.P.H., was named one of only eight finalists. The Milton W. Hamolsky Award recognizes junior faculty within the first two years of their first faculty appointment who deliver exceptional scientific abstract presentations at the SGIM annual meeting.