In late April, the Iowa Board of Regents announced the six winners for their annual Faculty Excellence Awards, reserved for faculty members who have demonstrated “extraordinary contributions and [a] sustained record of excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service.” Jack Stapleton, MD, professor in Internal Medicine—Infectious Diseases (ID) and professor of Microbiology and Immunology was one of those six, the only winner from the Carver College of Medicine.

Stapleton received enthusiastic support of this nomination from four colleagues including Patricia Winokur, MD, executive dean for the Carver College of Medicine. She wrote, “I have worked with Dr. Stapleton for more than 30 years and have watched a career that has had profound impact on so many people both here in Iowa and around the country.”

Winokur outlined Stapleton’s “seminal academic work,” including bringing over $50 million in research funding into the University of Iowa as a principal investigator and publishing in high impact journals, which also just earned Stapleton a silver-level Impact Scholar Award in 2024’s Celebration of Excellence.

Each of Stapleton’s nominators focused on his impact in caring for people with HIV/AIDS for decades. He founded the state’s first HIV clinic at the University of Iowa in 1986, which Winokur credits as an influence on the adoption of multidisciplinary care management for the hospital’s complex patients—now a standard in the continuity of care throughout University of Iowa Health Care.

Daniel Diekema, MD, MS, former ID division director, echoed these sentiments in his letter of support: “[Stapleton’s] research lab is going on four decades of continuous external funding, and his work spans from the basic virology of positive strand RNA viruses . . . to translational and clinical trials. His publication record and invited lectures across the country and around the world elevate the profile of the University of Iowa and demonstrate the national and international recognition that his work has garnered.”

Of course, Stapleton’s influence doesn’t stem solely from scholarly and clinical work. His ongoing impact as an instructor continues to influence current and former students, residents, and fellows. In a joint letter from Judy Streit, MD, interim ID division director and Isabella Grumbach, MD, PhD, interim chair and DEO of the Department of Internal Medicine, the two cited “scores of Infectious Disease fellows and thousands of medical students and residents at the University of Iowa” as carrying Stapleton’s legacy. These former trainees, who go on to do great things themselves, “fanned out across the state of Iowa and other parts of the United States.” That these former trainees then go on to train others themselves, they write, it becomes “impossible to measure the impact of Dr. Stapleton’s example.”