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The Making of Medicine

Amy Mathers: Innovator of the Year

UVA's Licensing & Ventures Group has named our Amy Mathers, MD, as the recipient of this year’s Edlich-Henderson Innovator of the Year award. The award recognizes her truly heroic efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as her work as the chief medical officer of Antimicrobial Resistance Services Inc., a company that specializes in whole-genome sequencing to battle the spread of harmful bacteria.

Dr. Mathers has truly gone above and beyond during the pandemic. When there weren't enough COVID-19 tests early on, Dr. Mathers worked with our Mendy Poulter, PhD, to create in-house tests for us and other hospitals across Virginia.

When there was so much testing that there weren't enough nasal swabs, Dr. Mathers helped design, manufacture and get FDA clearance for new swabs -- again benefiting hospitals across the state.

When it came time for students to return to Grounds, Mathers helped develop a wastewater testing strategy to detect cases of COVID-19 in buildings, preventing larger outbreaks.

And when SARS CoV-2 mutations and variants began to emerge, Dr. Mathers quickly pivoted her lab to monitor them to inform public health policy and understand transmission.

That's some amazing work, isn't it? I'm happy to see all her efforts recognized with the Innovator of the Year award, which recognizes UVA faculty whose work is making a major impact on society. Truly, she has.

This is actually the fourth year in a row that someone from the School of Medicine has won Innovator of the Year. Go SoM, and go Dr. Mathers!

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