Professor Diane Harper selected as the Michigan Family Physician of the Year for 2026

Professor Diane M. Harper, MD, MPH, MS, has been selected as the Michigan Family Physician of the Year 2026 by the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP). The award honors physicians who exemplify the tradition and contributions of the family physician to the continuing health of Michigan residents. Recipients are selected annually from nominations submitted by MAFP members and the public.

She received the award during the 2026 Michigan Family Medicine Conference & Expo July 17-19 on Mackinac Island.

“Dr. Harper has built a remarkable career defined by compassionate, comprehensive care and an extraordinary commitment to improving women’s health in Michigan and beyond,” said Bashar Yalldo, MD, FAAFP, president of MAFP, pictured above right, with event keynote speaker Renee Crichlow, MD, FAAFP, former president of STFM, on the left, and Harper in the middle. 

“A family physician, women’s health specialist, and internationally recognized leader in cervical cancer prevention, she is well known for the empathy, expertise, and dedication she brings to both her patients and the broader practice of family medicine." Yalldo added. 

Fellow Family Medicine clinician Stephen M. Wampler, MD, assistant professor, as well as medical director and chief of service for Chelsea Hospital, shared his congratulations on Harper’s honor. 

"As a family physician working with Dr. Harper at the Dexter Health Center, I am delighted she is being recognized in this manner,” he said. “Her career in clinical medicine, research and advocacy highlights the breadth of Family Medicine.” 

Many Department of Family Medicine faculty members attended the MAFP conference, pictured above. They include in the top row, from left to right, Philip E. Rodgers, MD, the George A. Dean, MD Chair of Family Medicine; Eliza Hutchinson, MD, clinical assistant professor; Harper; and Resident Rosa Reyes, DO, MS. In the front row is, from left to right, Juana Nicoll Capizzano, MD, clinical associate professor in Family Medicine and program director at the U-M Medical School; Kayla Sheehan, MD, clinical assistant professor of Family Medicine and Internal Medicine, Professor Lauren Oshman, MD, MPH, FAAFP, Laurel Guttierez, MD, clinical assistant professor, and Scott Kelley, MD, clinical assistant professor, all of Family Medicine.

Harper has also been honored as the 2026 Kansas University School of Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award winner. The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes an alum who has made a significant impact in their field through dedicated patient care, research, and/or teaching. Harper will be officially honored at the KU School of Medicine Annual Faculty Retreat towards the end of August.

She was nominated by Erin Calhoun, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Kansas. Harper mentored Calhoun where she completed her medical residency in U-M's Department of Family Medicine. The two also collaborated on research characterizing HPV infections among persons vaccinated against HPV.

“Dr. Harper’s career reflects an extraordinary commitment to scientific rigor, health equity, and public health impact,” Calhoun wrote in her nomination letter. 

“Her work has not only improved clinical practice but has changed the trajectory of cervical cancer prevention worldwide -- all the while, she remains the same generous mentor I first encountered -- still actively teaching residents, guiding hands-on procedures, and inspiring curiosity and the next generation of physicians. I can think of no one more deserving of this distinguished honor,” Calhoun added.

Harper received her medical degree from the University of Kansas Medical School and completed a master's in public health through KU's Department of Population Health, with concentrations in epidemiology and biostatistics.

Her MAFP and KUSOM honors are not the first time she has been recognized for her exceptional clinical care in family medicine. She was also recognized as the New Hampshire Family Physician of the Year in 2006, in connection with her work as a physician-scientist at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. 

Harper is an internationally recognized family physician and clinical research expert in HPV-associated diseases, their prevention, early detection, and treatment for cancer prevention. She has been a consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to advise on global guidelines and to set up screening and prevention operations in low- and middle-income countries to prevent cervical cancer. 

Harper's research team is the first to publish within a U.S.-based population the equivalence of self-sampling to the speculum exam for cancer screening, which is now implemented in Michigan Medicine clinics.

“I am thrilled and grateful to receive this honor from my alma mater,” Harper said. “My medical school and residency at Kansas University taught me how to be a clinician. I am grateful to my nominators and to the many mentors who taught me the importance of focusing on patients, but that being a family medicine physician could also be more than being an excellent clinician.”