Dinushika Mohottige, MD, MPH, a fellow in Nephrology, is the 2019 Michelle P. Winn Inclusive Excellence Award Fellow Recipient.
Through the Duke University School of Medicine’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion, the Michelle Winn Inclusive Excellence Award was established to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to diversity and inclusion within the Duke University School of Medicine community.
This award is presented annually to students, faculty, and staff members who create a more diverse and inclusive environment through excellence, innovation, and leadership.
“Dr. Mohottige is beloved by her patients and colleagues for her commitment to excellence in all aspects of her career. While still early in her career, Mohottige is well accomplished in many areas, in particular, diversity and inclusion, spearheading efforts with her colleagues to successfully open a volunteer-based after-hours clinic for patients at Lincoln Community Health Center. She is passionate about community engagement to improve the care of a diverse patient population,” said Aimee Zaas, MD, MHS, associate professor of medicine and program director for the Duke Internal Medicine Residency.
On her own time, Mohottige was part of the Department of Medicine's Civility Leadership Team, which generated awareness for diversity, inclusion, bias, and healthcare disparities through the creation of a curriculum to train Civility Champions within the Department of Medicine.
"Winning this award is a tremendous honor because of the deep impact Dr. Winn had through her incredible career as an internationally distinguished scientist and as a treasured member of the Duke community. I only wish I had the opportunity to meet her myself. I am inspired to strive to integrate values around diversity and inclusion into everything I do as I fundamentally believe equity and innovation cannot thrive without these foundational pillars," said Mohottige on receiving this award.
“Dinushika is a gem. Despite having successfully implemented not one, but two large-scale programs to foster diversity already, her impact has just begun to be felt. She is a rising star and truly exemplary,” said Dr. Zaas.
Mohottige went to Duke University for her undergraduate degree and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for medical school. She earned a master's degree in public health from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her residency training brought her back to Duke University, where she served as chief resident for internal medicine at Duke Regional Hospital and Ambulatory.
Michelle Winn, MD, associate professor of medicine (Nephrology), passed away in July 2014. She came to Duke in 1992 as an intern and undertook residencies in Psychiatry and Medicine before focusing her career on Nephrology and joining our faculty. She was a wonderful clinician, a generous mentor, and an esteemed physician-scientist. Dr. Winn was respected and beloved by her colleagues, and deeply committed to diversity and inclusion and to the careers of younger physicians and scientists who orbited around her. More about the award and Dr. Winn.
Read more about the Department of Medicine achievements and recognition.