PRESS RELEASE: Immigrant health champion Chanelle Diaz wins 2026 Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility
BOSTON, MA — Chanelle Diaz, MD, MPH, has won the 2026 Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility and its $25,000 prize. The award recognizes her outstanding leadership in advancing the health and dignity of those held in immigration detention through pro bono forensic medical evaluations, groundbreaking research, outspoken public advocacy, and a commitment to cultivating the next generation of socially responsible clinicians.
Dr. Diaz is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and internal medicine medical director at the Charles Rangel Community Health Center. She is also the medical director for the Adult Community Health Worker Program at NewYork-Presbyterian’s Center for Community Health Navigation. Dr. Diaz volunteers for the Physicians for Human Rights Asylum Network and serves as a steering committee member and medical evaluator for the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest Medical Providers Network.
“As some of the most vulnerable people in our society are being stripped of their rights and their dignity, Dr. Diaz has refused to look away,” said Vikas Saini, MD, president of the Lown Institute. “Her work is backed by evidence, driven by compassion, and full of moral courage. She is exactly the kind of leader medicine needs right now.”
Some of Dr. Diaz’s notable accomplishments include:
- Advocating for the first legal needle exchange program in Miami, Florida, paving the way for statewide legislation.
- Conducting pro-bono forensic medical evaluations for detained immigrants regularly since 2017, documenting their unmet health needs and advocating for lifesaving care.
- Publishing peer-reviewed research, including the widely cited “Harmful by Design” that documents the negative health impacts of immigration detention.
- Redesigning residency training and medical education curricula to equip young clinicians as agents of change and moral leaders in their communities.
- Speaking out consistently in national media and academic forums about the health consequences of immigration detention.
The award from the Lown Institute is given each year to a U.S. clinician aged 45 or younger who stands out for their bold leadership in social justice, environmentalism, global peace, or other humanitarian efforts. It is named for Dr. Bernard Lown, a pioneering cardiologist, humanitarian, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and founder of the Lown Institute.
Dr. Diaz will be honored at the BLASR Award Dinner on the evening of May 21, 2026, in Cambridge, MA. The dinner will be held in conjunction with LOWN26: Confronting Healthcare Affordability, a one-day conference bringing together those committed to ensuring that care does not crush the finances of American families.
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About the Lown Institute: The Lown Institute is an independent think tank advocating bold ideas for a just and caring system for health. We envision a system where hospitals serve their communities equitably, patients are free from financial harm, and care decisions are driven by need rather than profit. The Lown Hospitals Index, a signature project of the Institute, is the only national ranking to assess the social responsibility of U.S. hospitals, using measures such as racial inclusivity, avoidance of overuse, and pay equity between executives and frontline workers.
Media Contact: Aaron Toleos, Lown Institute, (978) 821-4620, atoleos@lowninstitute.org