UTHealth Houston leaders elected to prestigious medical society
(Graphic by UTHealth Houston)
The Association of American Physicians has elected Melina R. Kibbe, MD, and Daniel Sessler, MD, to its 2026 cohort, recognizing their outstanding contributions to biomedical research.
The Association of American Physicians, founded in 1885 by Sir William Osler and his colleagues, is one of the nation’s oldest honorary medical societies. Established to advance scientific and practical medicine, it serves as a forum for leading physician-scientists to share research and ideas.
Membership in the association is highly selective, with about 70 physicians elected each year through a rigorous review process.
Through annual meetings and collaborative initiatives, the association supports the exchange of research and mentorship across generations of physician-scientists. Members’ work spans the spectrum of medicine, from fundamental discovery to clinical care and public health, reinforcing the organization’s role in advancing medical science and patient care.
Melina R. Kibbe, MD
President and Alkek-Williams Distinguished Chair at UTHealth Houston
Kibbe became president at UTHealth Houston in September 2025. Previously, she served as dean of the School of Medicine, the James Carroll Flippin Professor of Medical Science, and chief health affairs officer at the University of Virginia.
Kibbe’s research focuses on developing drug-eluting therapies for vascular disease while advancing understanding of how these treatments affect the vasculature. She has secured funding from major federal agencies and national organizations and has led clinical trials and studies for critical limb ischemia and peripheral artery disease. A holder of more than 10 patents, Kibbe has earned national recognition, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2009.
Kibbe has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and presented more than 240 abstracts. Her honors include the Society for Vascular Surgery Women’s Leadership Award; American Medical Women’s Association Gender Equity Award; American Medical Student Association Women Leaders in Medicine Award; Northwestern University Tripartite Award; Association of VA Surgeons’ Presidential Citation; University of Chicago Distinguished Service Award; and Virginia Business 2023 Women in Leadership Award.
She is also a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and has received 24 teaching awards for her commitment to education.
Kibbe graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in biological sciences in 1990 before earning her medical degree from the Pritzker School of Medicine in 1994. She completed her internship, residency, and research fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and a vascular surgery fellowship at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
Kibbe was nominated by Jochen Reiser, MD, PhD, president of The University of Texas Medical Branch.
Daniel Sessler, MD
Professor and Vice President for clinical and outcomes research at UTHealth Houston
Sessler is a professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine and the vice president for clinical and outcomes research at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. He joined the faculty at McGovern Medical School in fall 2024 with a mission to expand clinical research across the university by coordinating institution-wide efforts in outcomes research.
Sessler has published more than 1,000 full papers, including three dozen in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and JAMA. According to Scopus, his papers have been cited more than 70,000 times in peer-reviewed articles, making him one of the world’s most published and cited perioperative investigators.
Throughout his career, Sessler has been a principal or co-investigator on grants cumulatively worth $100 million. He founded and directed the Outcomes Research Consortium nearly four decades ago and grew it into one of the world’s largest anesthesia research groups, publishing a full paper nearly every other day.
Sessler received his medical degree from Columbia University before completing pediatric and anesthesia residencies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Sessler was nominated by Holger Eltzschig, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Distinguished University Chair, and associate vice president for Translational Medicine at UTHealth Houston.
