Margaret Turk, MD, Distinguished Service Professor of Physical Medical and Rehabilitation, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from American Public Health Association (APHA) Disability Section. Last year, she also was honored with the Distinguished Member Award from the American Association of Physiatrists (AAP).

The APHA award is presented to individuals who, over the course of their career, have made a major contribution to the improvement of health and quality of life for people with disabilities through research, teaching, advocacy, or practice. Past award winners have been nationally and/or internationally recognized as major contributors to the disability and public health fields.

This AAP award is reserved for the most distinguished physiatrist, an individual who is of international status, recognized as a major contributor to the field by virtue of teaching, research and scholarly publications, and noted for dedicated service to the AAP.

Turk, who joined the Upstate faculty in 1989, has dedicated her career to improving the health and well-being of people with disability. An academician and clinical expert in Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine and Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine, Turk currently serves as her department’s vice chair and quality officer, director of Pediatric Rehabilitation, associate director of University Hospital’s Rehabilitation Units, director for Clinical Research, and director for Student Education.

She has chaired numerous university committees and has participated in or led multiple initiatives at the regional, state and national level to enhance care for patients with disability, including work with the New York State Department of Health, American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (serving as its first woman chairman), American Board of Medical Specialties, Association of Academic Physiatrists, Center for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, National Academy of Medicine (previously Institute of Medicine), Institute of Medicine, Association of American Medical Colleges and World Health Organization.

She is a creator of the Disability Education Toolkit  founding co-editor of the Disability and Health Journal, a high-impact journal in the field, has edited several books, authored 25 book chapters/monographs and more than 60 journal articles, and has been recognized with multiple regional, national and international awards for her work.