“Improving patient care, advancing science, and promoting public health”: Those are the goals of Infectious Diseases Society of America president-elect Ronald G. Nahass, MD, MHCM, FIDSA, for his term. Dr. Nahass spoke with Infectious Disease Special Edition prior to IDWeek 2025, after which he will be taking on the presidency through 2026.
Dr. Nahass told IDSE that in order to reach his goals, the society will focus on community building and education, not only the general public but also politicians. He has already been to Capitol Hill to talk to Democrats and Republicans alike, he said. “We are clearly in unprecedented times,” he said, “when public health and infectious disease care are under attack. … I hope to really emphasize our plans to raise awareness to these concerns and advocate for modifications that ensure that healthy communities … are achieved.”
Dr. Nahass is the founder, former president, and current director of clinical research for ID Care, the largest healthcare organization providing infectious diseases specialty services in New Jersey, and is a clinical professor of medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, in New Brunswick, N.J.
This transcript was made using artificial intelligence.
00:00:06:04
Dr. Nahass: Hi, nice to be here. I’m Ron Nahass. I’ve been a practicing infectious disease doctor for 35 years, and I am the president-elect. Will be assuming the presidency of the IDSA. I trained at Rutgers Medical School, and basically never left New Jersey. Rutgers is in New Jersey. Initially, I was the medical director of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group at the Rutgers Medical School.
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00:00:32:10
Left that job after three years to start a private practice of infectious disease here in New Jersey, in the mid-1990s. I worked with three other individuals in New Jersey, and we formed the organization that is now known as ID Care. Since that point in time, I’ve actually led ID Care as the president. It has grown to become a very large single-specialty practice of infectious disease physicians and advanced practice providers.
00:01:00:10
We have over 100 clinicians in the state of New Jersey that is providing nearly 400,000 patient visits per year. Personally, I’m still active in my practice to see patients in my private practice, and I’m currently the director of clinical research at ID Care. The society represents over 13,000 members, and during my tenure, I’m really hoping to continue the work.
00:01:24:07
The strong work, really that our prior leaders and our board have really been doing over the last five years to advance the priorities, goals, and objectives of our current strategic plan, which was really thoughtfully put together. I was fortunate to be a part of that. When we put that together was really thoughtfully put together by our board.
00:01:45:09
The priorities of the strategic plan, I think, are really important to emphasize the fall into three main areas. One is building and sustaining a broad, diverse, and valued ID workforce to improve patient care, advance science, and promote public health. Very critical. Principal that we’re working hard at work. Number two, we’re working to support and emphasize that IDSA is the leader and trusted source for timely, evidence-based infectious disease content and expertise.
00:02:17:14
Given the current climate, this couldn’t be more critical. And number three, the third tenet of our strategic plan is to promote IDSA leadership in preventing, preparing, and responding to infectious disease threats to protect our communities. I think these overarching priorities bring great focus to our mission, vision, and a clear direction for our efforts. So I’m really excited about continuing the progress that, you know, that my prior presidents have really been leading.
00:02:45:14
In addition, you know, sort of unique to my role, I hope to bring some of the insights that I have as a private practice physician to the society and raise awareness of the perspective of this group of members for the society. The members in that community are truly frontline clinicians, seeing patients every day, each and every day. That's what they do.
00:03:04:16
So their unique lens represents an important constituency that I hope to elevate during my presidency. Certainly the climate in the environment is very different than it was even a year ago when I stepped into the president-elect role, if you will. But the society, the IDSA, is really a nonpartisan organization that we work with both sides of the aisle to advocate for better care for all Americans.
00:03:29:14
We are clearly in unprecedented times when public health and infectious disease care is under attack. Guidelines, entities, fortifications designed to assure excellence in care reduction and risk—broad act and broad access are being dismantled. We will continue, and I hope to really emphasize our plans to raise awareness to these concerns and advocate for modifications to ensure that healthy communities, as I just mentioned, regarding our strategic priorities, are achieved.
00:04:01:10
We continue our outreach. Will plan to continue our outreach to the members of Congress, both Democratic and Republican, in our advocacy efforts. I’ve been fortunate to go to the Hill a number of times, and have met with both Republican and Democratic groups. The current political situation really makes this outreach and education of Congress even more important to help assure the right science and the right information is heard.
00:08:06:19
The ID Week is such a great event for the infectious disease community. We get to meet back with our our colleagues. We get to socialize with them, learn with them to share ideas. Console them. So it’s a really a meeting, a fellowship, a meeting of learning and a meeting of excitement.
00:08:27:18
And so, I think that it’s also about really encouraging and supporting each other and looking forward because we have shared goals, shared visions, and we share a passion for making sure that our communities are safe and healthy. So getting together to talk about it, to commiserate about the challenges and just to really enjoy each other's company, is what I’m most excited about.