The American Thoracic Society awarded its highest recognition, the Edward Livingston Trudeau Medal, to Jonathan M. Samet, professor and Flora L. Thornton Chair in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, at its annual meeting May 19.

The Trudeau Medal was established in 1926 in honor of the founder and the first president of the American Lung Association. The medal recognizes an individual’s lifelong contributions to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of lung disease through leadership in research, education or clinical care.

Samet, who is also director of the USC Institute for Global Health, is an international authority on the effects of smoking and air pollution on health, chairs the Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and the Food and Drug Administration Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, and has contributed to several U.S. Surgeon General’s reports. He holds two Surgeon General’s medallions among many awards.

He is also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.