Two Department of Family Medicine faculty members have received special recognition from the University of Michigan for their notable contributions in teaching, mentoring, service and scholarship. They are among 30 faculty members university-wide who are receiving the recognition in 2021.
Caroline Richardson, M.D., receives the 2021 Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award
Caroline R. Richardson, M.D., the Dr. Max and Buena Lichter Research Professor of Family Medicine and associate chair of the department, has received a Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award for consistently demonstrating outstanding achievements in scholarly research, teaching and mentoring of students and junior colleagues, service and other activities. She is one of five awardees who have been tapped for this award.
Along with her family medicine professorship, Richardson is a health services researcher dedicated to advancing the care and prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity through evidence-based research and lifestyle changes. Her recent research focuses on diabetes prevention and Type 2 diabetes care quality. She has conducted trials of behavioral interventions for diabetes using low carbohydrate diets and continuous glucose monitoring. She recently launched a Blue Cross Blue Shield-supported statewide collaborative quality initiative called the Michigan Collaborative for Type 2 Diabetes.
In addition to conducting her own research, Richardson serves as associate chair of research programs for Family Medicine and is editor-in-chief of Annals of Family Medicine, the most cited family medicine journal in the world. She is an active research mentor and teaches in the Clinical Trials Academy and the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research/Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation K-grant boot camp.
Richardson joined Michigan Medicine in 1998. She has served in numerous leadership roles, including working as (the now former) medical director of the Ypsilanti Health Center, where she currently sees patients. She also directed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Quality Enhancement Research Initiative for Diabetes and led the VA Diabetes Prevention Program Implementation trial.
Mike McKee, M.D., receives the 2021 Faculty Recognition Award
Mike McKee, M.D., MPH, associate professor of family medicine and physical medicine and rehabilitation, has received a faculty recognition award for mid-career faculty members who have demonstrated remarkable contributions to the university through achievements in scholarly research; excellence as a teacher, adviser and mentor; and distinguished participation in service activities of the university and elsewhere. He is among a group of five faculty who have received the award.
McKee is a family physician and nationally-recognized researcher on disability-related disparities in access to and utilization of health care. He is also an advocate for the rights of patients who are deaf and hard of hearing and others with disabilities.
A past president of the Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Loss, McKee has directed Michigan Medicine’s Deaf Health Clinic in Dexter since joining the U-M faculty in 2013. He also directs MDisability, a program dedicated to educating medical students on how to interact with individuals with disabilities and expanding opportunities and quality of care for people with disabilities in family medicine. Additionally, he co-directs Michigan Medicine’s Center for Disability Health and Wellness.
Renowned as a role model, teacher and mentor, McKee launched the U-M Medical School’s first Disability Health Elective and an internship program that unites students, some with disabilities, and U-M faculty to conduct research and engage in health care advocacy for people with disabilities. He has given 85 presentations and seminars around the world and has published 60 papers and book chapters.
McKee is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and Medicine Roundtable on Health Literacy and works with the Deaf Community Advocacy Network. He is a recipient of U-M’s 2020 Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award, among other honors.
Richardson and McKee will be acknowledged at a dinner and ceremony on Monday, October 18 in the Rogel Ballroom of the Michigan Union.
