ACLM announces 2026 Dr. Stephen Turner Residency Director and Faculty Scholarship recipients

The scholarships support certification in lifestyle medicine for residency program directors and faculty members interested in integrating lifestyle medicine into their residency programs.

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) and American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (ABLM) have announced the 15 recipients of the 2026 Dr. Stephen Turner Residency Director and Faculty Scholarship, which supports the integration of lifestyle medicine into medical residency programs nationwide.

The scholarships cover the cost of training and certification in lifestyle medicine, equipping residency program directors and faculty with the confidence, knowledge and skills to implement the Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum (LMRC) and train residents in their programs. The LMRC is a comprehensive, applicable and flexible curriculum that prepares residents to make evidence-based lifestyle behavior interventions and qualify to sit for the ABLM lifestyle medicine certification exam upon residency completion.

The scholarships were established through a generous gift from Stephen Turner, MD, DipABLM, a Mayo Clinic nephrologist who was in the inaugural 2017 cohort to become certified as a lifestyle medicine physician. Included in the scholarship award are ACLM membership for one year, registration for ACLM's annual conference, enrollment in the Foundations of Lifestyle Medicine Board Review course and ABLM exam registration fees.  

Education in the six pillars of lifestyle medicine– optimal nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, connectedness and avoidance of risky substances–has historically been lacking throughout medical education and training. Launched by ACLM in 2018, the LMRC helps fill the gap in lifestyle medicine, including nutrition education, in graduate medical education programs.

Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Lifestyle medicine-certified clinicians are trained to apply evidence-based, whole-person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine also provides effective prevention for these conditions.

"The future of healthcare depends on how we train today's physicians," said ACLM Medical Director of Education Brenda Rea, MD, DrPH, PT, RDN, DipABLM, FACLM, Lifestyle Medicine Intensivist. "These scholarship recipients are helping ensure that the next generation of clinicians understands how to treat, reverse and prevent chronic disease using evidence-based lifestyle interventions. By bringing lifestyle medicine into residency training, they are equipping future physicians with the tools to address root causes and deliver the kind of whole-person care patients need and deserve."

2026 Dr. Stephen Turner Residency Director and Faculty Scholarship Recipients

Allison Adams, MD
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Ky.

Ana Abril Arias, MD
Natividad Family Medicine Residency
Salinas, Calif.

Andrew Berta, MD
Chestnut Hill Family Medicine Residency
Philadelphia, Pa.

Christine Black-Langenau, DO
Bryn Mawr Family Medicine Residency
Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Mary C. Boyce, MD, FAAFP
Wesley Family Medicine Residency
Wichita, Kan.

Michael D. Cheshire, DO, FACOI, FACP, FNLA
WVU School of Medicine
Morgantown, W.Va.

Rosa J. Joseph, DO, MPH
FSU-BayCare Family Medicine Residency Program
Winter Haven, Fla.

Lucas T. Kane, DO
Cahaba Medical Care
Birmingham, Ala.

Sarah Stokes Kane, DO
Cahaba Medical Care
Birmingham, Ala.

Adan Romero, MD, DABOM
MLK Healthcare
West Hollywood, Calif.

Annashia Shera, MD, MS, FACP
University of New Mexico Division of General Internal Medicine
Albuquerque, N.M.

Christie M. Thomas, MD
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Miami, Fla.

Allan Wagner, DO
Community Memorial Healthcare
Ventura, Calif.

Blake Motley Watts, MD
Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program
Sugar Land, Texas

SarahKay Welch, DO
Adventist La Grange Family Medicine Residency
Chicago, Ill.

About ACLM®
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is the nation's medical professional society building the infrastructure to scale lifestyle medicine as the new standard of care. ACLM translates evidence-based lifestyle interventions into education, certification, and implementation, equipping physicians, healthcare professionals, and systems of care to treat the root causes of chronic disease. Since 2004, ACLM has trained more than 100,000 health professionals and made more than 1.75 million hours of accredited continuing education available through courses and conferences for physicians and health professionals. With hundreds of institutional partners worldwide, ACLM is helping healthcare move from a system designed to manage disease to one capable of restoring health.

SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medicine