On April 17, 2025, the Macy Foundation lost our beloved president, Holly J. Humphrey, MD, MACP, a nationally renowned leader in medical education who left an indelible mark on the Foundation and its work. Just a few months later, Dr. Humphrey was named the 2025 recipient of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Award for Excellence in Medical Education, the organization’s highest recognition for contributions to advancing medical education nationally. Dr. Humphrey’s work and leadership have had a lasting impact on the field, and this award—given posthumously for the first time—reflects the high esteem in which she was held by her peers. In addition, Dr. Humphrey was selected as one of three recipients of the 2025 AAMC Special Recognition Award, which honors exemplary service and collaboration with the AAMC and its members. We wish she could have lived to see such a clear demonstration of the high regard and respect in which she was held by her colleagues and friends in the education community—a community she deeply cared for.

The Macy Foundation has continued to elevate issues related to the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in medical education through several efforts, notably awarding three grants emanating from the 2024 conference on the same topic. Each of the three AI in Medical Education grant recipients receives up to $200,000 over two years to implement and evaluate innovative demonstration projects focused on the applications of AI in medical education. These projects explore using AI systems to provide feedback on learners’ communication skills in patient-physician interactions; train learners to effectively use AI in clinical settings; and assess surgical skills among resident learners. Additionally, the 2024 conference recommendations and accompanying Innovations Report were published in a special issue of Academic Medicine (full supplement here). The Macy Foundation also co-sponsored a webinar series with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to highlight both the conference recommendations and Innovations Report.

In early 2025, the Macy Foundation announced the six recipients of Disability Inclusion in Nursing: A Grants Program to Advance Innovation and Systems Approaches for Nursing Education and Practice. Each recipient receives funding of up to $75,000 annually for two to three years to implement innovative projects aimed at advancing inclusion, equity, and accessibility for nursing students with disabilities. These projects are working to dismantle ableism in nursing education and clinical practice; develop inclusive curricula and accommodations for learners with disabilities; incorporate universal design principles into teaching, skills labs, simulations, and clinical experiences; redesign technical standards to prioritize inclusion and equity; and implement faculty and staff training to address implicit biases and foster belonging. Support for this grants program was provided through a partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

In partnership with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the Macy Foundation announced the awardees of the third cycle of the Catalyst Awards for Transformation in Graduate Medical Education. Each recipient receives up to $100,000 in total support over the 18-month period to implement innovative projects that promote belonging, collaboration, and thriving in the clinical learning environment for residents and fellows. Their projects include efforts such as addressing resident burnout and navigating bias; supporting new mothers in their medical training; and utilizing interactive theater to explore professional and ethical dilemmas; among others. The fourth cycle recipients will be announced in early 2026.

Now in its second decade, the Macy Faculty Scholars Program continues to help develop the next generation of national leaders in medical and nursing education. In March, we announced the 2025 Scholars whose projects focus on an array of topics: addressing substance use disorder; artificial intelligence in health professions education; the role of advocacy in medical education; addressing diagnostic inequality; and innovative communication skills training. The Foundation looks forward to watching the Scholars’ projects and careers progress over the two-year award period. We also launched a series of Macy Faculty Scholar Spotlight videos, which highlight the scholarship and professional lives of recent Scholars and offer more insight into the Macy Faculty Scholars Program.

In the midst of the external pressures that many within the academic medicine and nursing communities are experiencing, the Macy Foundation remains committed to our priority areas and to the aligned work, which we believe to be meaningful and important for the future of health care. It was in this spirit that, in late 2025, we released the Rapid Response RFA, a limited opportunity available to those in the Macy community whose funding related to diversity, equity, and belonging has been reduced or eliminated. We look forward to sharing updates on funded proposals in the coming year. And earlier this month, we announced our latest RFA—Ensuring Fairness in Clinical Assessment. This new opportunity, which will support demonstration projects to develop, implement, and evaluate innovative strategies for enhancing fairness in medical and nursing learner assessment, builds on the Macy Foundation’s 2022 conference titled Ensuring Fairness in Medical Education Assessment. Funded projects will serve as exemplars for implementing strategies that center the purpose of assessment: ensuring that learners are fully prepared to provide the highest standard of care to their patients.