Bonnie Ramsey, MD, is the 2025 American Pediatric Society John Howland Award recipient. This prestigious award is the highest honor presented by the society and recognizes Ramsey for her contributions to advancing the field of pediatrics and child health.
Ramsey is a professor emerita of pediatrics at the UW School of Medicine and a senior advisor of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Development Network. She is also co-principal investigator emerita of the UW Institute of Translational Health Sciences.
Ramsey will receive the Howland Award during the society’s Presidential Plenary at the Pediatric Academic Societies 2025 meeting.
Trailblazer in pediatric pulmonology and cystic fibrosis discoveries
Ramsey has dedicated her clinical and research career to treating patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) by establishing outcome measures and developing study designs that are now the standards used in the field. Her work has largely focused on the development of new therapeutics that have transformed the care of patients with CF.
Ramsey’s important work contributed to dramatically improving the predicted life expectancy of children with CF to over 60 years of age for those born between 2019 and 2023. Just 30 years ago, life expectancy for CF patients was 32 years. Not only are children with CF living longer, but they have improved quality of life that allows them to participate in activities that would not have been possible a few years ago.
“Dr. Ramsey’s impact on the field of pediatric pulmonology in general, and on the care of patients with CF in particular, is extraordinary,” said Clifford Bogue, MD, president of the society. “Dr. Ramsey is a leader, researcher, clinician, advocate and mentor whose life has made an indelible mark on the field of pediatrics.”
Role model and leader in the field
Beyond her work on CF, Ramsey has dedicated herself to mentoring junior faculty. During her long career, she has mentored many fellows and junior faculty who have become leaders in their fields. Most recently, Ramsey was a mentor in the American Pediatric Society and Society for Pediatric Research Journeys Program for junior faculty and medical faculty from underrepresented populations.
She has been a role model and advocate for women in academic medicine and pediatrics. Her extraordinary national leadership further reflects Ramsey’s impact on the field. She has chaired the National Clinical and Translational Science Award Consortium Child Health Oversight Committee and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Working Group on Future Research Directions in CF Lung Disease, to name a few. Ramsey also has served on several Clinical and Translational Science Award External Advisory Boards.
More about the award
The American Society of Pediatrics is a nonprofit organization founded in 1888 as the first pediatric society in North America. The John Howland Award was created by the society in honor of clinician-scientist John Howland, MD. The annual award has recognized individuals for their distinguished service to pediatrics since 1952. Learn more in the press release.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by the UW Medicine Newsroom. Another version has also been posted by the UW Medicine Department of Pediatrics.