Clinical Teacher Award

Catherine Wilfert Clinical Teacher Award
Rocío Hurtado, MD, DTM&H, FIDSA

Rocío Hurtado, MD, DTM&H, FIDSA, an infectious diseases physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, is the founder and director, since 2003, of the MGH Mycobacterial Center and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School whose career as a clinical educator has focused on complex mycobacterial infections (including HIV coinfection, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria) and tropical medicine domestically and internationally. 

She has been committed to the mentorship and career development of generations of ID fellows at Mass General and Brigham and Women’s Hospital for over two decades and has trained all MGH and Brigham fellows in mycobacterial diseases, co-directed their annual parasitology course and established the advanced mycobacterial preceptorship, a one year program for ID and pulmonary fellows pursuing advanced training in complex mycobacterial infections. 

Dr. Hurtado is the winner of several clinical excellence awards, including the Brian McGovern Award at Mass General and the Richard J. Wallace Award for Excellence in Clinical Care and Research in Mycobacterial Infections from the University of Texas at Tyler in 2026, as well as the Ernesto Gonzalez Award for Service to the Latino Community. She has directed courses at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health and co-leads the TB section in the DHHS Antiretroviral Guidelines, in addition to serving on the Clinical Protocols Committee for NTM Infections (American College of Chest Physicians) and the Health Equity Working Group for the Bronchiectasis and NTM Care Center Network nationally. 

Originally from Peru, Dr. Hurtado has conducted global health work overseas in Peru, South Africa, Ethiopia and Cambodia in drug-resistant TB under the mentorship of Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, and Anne Goldfeld, MD. She is keenly aware of the impact of poverty and health disparities on health outcomes for some of the most marginalized communities afflicted with MDR and XDRTB overseas, with high rates of HIV coinfection and severe malnutrition. 

Domestically, in addition to consultative care for patients with refractory mycobacterial disease, she maintains a large HIV primary care panel, which she cares for jointly with her fellows, serving a sizeable Latino and Portuguese-speaking population with numerous social determinants of health. Her trainees and mentees repeatedly remark on Dr. Hurtado’s diagnostic acumen and her practice of medicine guided by compassion, humanity and advocacy; her sincere love for patients who are medically complex and socially marginalized; and her availability to consult with colleagues (including former trainees) facing complex clinical scenarios even while overseas.

She embodies the highest standards of clinical excellence and generous mentorship. Her colleagues have frequently consulted her on complex cases in ID and pulmonary and central nervous system infections ranging from complex neurocysticercosis to drug-resistant TB and refractory disseminated NTM over the past two decades. 

Dr. Hurtado exemplifies the true spirit of the Clinical Teacher Award with an unwavering dedication to patient care, education and collaboration, and IDSA is proud to honor her with this award in 2026.