August 06, 2026
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has selected seven outstanding health professionals for the class of 2026 NAM Fellowships. The fellows were chosen based on their professional qualifications, reputations and accomplishments, and the relevance of their current field expertise to the work of the NAM and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
ACCP member Andrea Sikora, PharmD, MSCR has been selected for the 2026-2028 NAM Fellowship in Pharmacy. Sikora is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Reflecting on the potential impact of the fellowship and its alignment with her professional endeavors, Sikora shared:
My sincere belief is that the presence of clinical pharmacists (and their emphasis on the importance of comprehensive medication management) is essential for excellence in health care delivery, research, education, and policy. My passion is grounded by my clinical foundation as a critical care pharmacist, where I regularly worked at the frontiers of medical knowledge participating in life critical, highly complex clinical decision-making. This vision is further informed by my role as a pharmacy educator and clinician-scientist leading a federally funded research program to advance the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to make medication use safer. The NAM Fellowship in Pharmacy presents unparalleled opportunity to actively participate in health- and medicine-related work alongside experts in the field including researchers, policy experts, and clinicians to provide nonpartisan, scientific, and evidence-based advice to national, state, and local policymakers, administrators, and the public. This type of rich learning and mentoring environment is a truly unequaled opportunity to refine leadership skills at a national level.
“The strength of the NAM begins with bringing the right people to the table — those with deep expertise, a commitment to service, and a willingness to work across disciplines to improve health,” said National Academy of Medicine President Monica M. Bertagnolli. “These seven fellows embody those qualities. I look forward to the perspectives they will bring to our work and to seeing how this experience helps them grow as leaders who can turn evidence into action for people and communities across the country.”
Fellows will continue in their primary academic or research posts while engaging part time over a two-year period in the National Academies’ health and science policy work. They will also work with an expert study committee or roundtable related to their professional interests, including contributing to reports or other products. A flexible research grant will be awarded to each fellow. The overall purpose of the NAM Fellowship program is to enable talented health science scholars to participate actively in the work of the NAM and the National Academies, and to further their careers as future leaders in the field.