Emily Wang, MD, was one of 25 people to receive the 2022 MacArthur Fellowship, which comes with an $800,000 award. Dr. Yang is a professor in the department of internal medicine at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.
The McArthur Foundation released the list of its 2022 fellows Oct. 12. Dr. Wang was recognized for her efforts to improve health outcomes and coordinate care for people released from prison. She co-founded the Transitions Clinic Network, which now includes 48 clinics across 14 states that provide primary care and other support services to the vulnerable patient population.
"Transitions Clinic Network serves as a model to bridge the gap between the correctional healthcare systems and the community healthcare systems … there really is no healthcare that bridges those two systems," Dr. Yang said.
The McArthur fellowship is a "no-strings attached award" described as "an investment in a person's originality, insight and potential." Recipients are encouraged to use the award to pursue their own creative or professional endeavors. Those selected as fellows have demonstrated exceptional creativity; the promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishments; and potential for the fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work. (Read more about the selection process here.)
The McArthur Foundation has named 1,086 people as fellows since 1981. View the full list of 2022 recipients here.