The Wisconsin Medical Alumni Association (WMAA) honored its 2026 Distinguished Medical Alumni Award recipients during a banquet on May 1 at Best Western Premier Park Hotel in Madison. Among the awardees were two physicians with ties to the Department of Pediatrics:
Ruth Etzel
Distinguished Alumni Award
Ruth Etzel, MD, PhD, adjunct professor, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University, and Senior Technical Expert on Children’s Environmental Health, UNICEF, received the Distinguished Alumni Award. This award honors an individual who has completed a residency or fellowship at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics and has achieved distinction in medicine. Achievement is recognized through excellence in the practice of medicine, in academic activities, and in research accomplishment.
Etzel completed her medical school training at the UW in 1980 and went on to become a dual board-certified physician and environmental epidemiologist known for her landmark research. She conducted the first study to use cotinine as a biomarker for secondhand smoke exposure in children, and her work also established a link between moldy homes and fatal infant pulmonary hemorrhage. These discoveries transformed public health policy and our understanding of environmental risks to children. Over a distinguished 20-year career in the U.S. Public Health Service, she held senior leadership roles at the CDC, USDA, Indian Health Service, and WHO, championing children’s environmental health on a global scale. She is the founding editor of Pediatric Environmental Health, which is published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, a foundational text credited with establishing pediatric environmental health as a specialty field.
Dan Sklansky
Early Career Achievement Award
Daniel (Dan) Sklansky, MD, associate professor, Division of Hospital Medicine and Complex Care, and residency program director, received the Early Career Achievement Award. This award honors UW School of Medicine and Public Health alumni who have attained exemplary success early in their careers and have made outstanding contributions through clinical service, research, education, and/or administrative leadership.
Sklansky is a double Badger: he earned his BS and then completed his medical training at the UW in 2006. He returned to the Department of Pediatrics as faculty in 2012; Sklansky is now a pediatric hospitalist and program director with a deep passion for inpatient medicine and medical education. He has a longstanding commitment to creating a residency environment where trainees are empowered to make decisions, are challenged to grow, and are supported throughout their training. His vision seeks to develop well-rounded pediatricians who go on to excel and advocate across all settings. Sklansky is also active in the Association of Pediatric Program Directors, where he has served as co-chair of the Associate Program Director Special Interest Group and chair of the Midwest Region. He is a member of the program director executive council and member of numerous longitudinal workgroups and committees. Sklansky has won several teaching awards from both students and residents; he was also selected to participate in the UW Health Physician Leadership Development program in 2019–2021.