MSSNY Member Dr Willie Underwood Chosen as American Medical Association President-Elect

June 10, 2025
For Immediate Release

MSSNY Member Dr Willie Underwood Chosen as
American Medical Association President-Elect

CHICAGO – New York physician and Medical Society of the State of New York member Willie Underwood III, M.D., MSc, M.P.H., was today chosen as President-Elect of the American Medical Association (AMA).  Following a year-long term as president-elect, Dr. Underwood, a urologic surgeon from Buffalo, NY, will be inaugurated AMA president in June 2026. He will be the first AMA president from New York since Dr Nancy Nielsen served as president of the AMA in 2008-2009.

Dr. Underwood has more than 25 years of experience in urologic surgery including more than 15 years in robotic urologic surgery. He was elected to the AMA Board of Trustees in June 2019, served as AMA board chair from 2023 to 2024, and previously served as chair of the AMA Resident and Fellow Section. Additionally, he was Chair of MSSNY’s Employed Physician Rights Committee and served on MSSNY’s Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Committee. Dr Underwood presented a webinar at the 2023 MSSNY House of Delegates entitled The Sum of Us: How Inequities in Health, Wealth, and Education Negatively Impact All of Us. Dr Underwood also served as president of the Erie County (New York) Medical Society.

“It is an incredible honor to be chosen by my peers to represent physicians and the patients we serve at this critical moment for health care and medicine,” said Dr. Underwood. “The AMA is leading the way in fighting for a rational Medicare payment system, to rein in prior authorization, and reduce physician burnout. I will stand up to advocate for our profession in a way that will inspire, motivate, and activate physicians to join the AMA in our efforts to improve the health of our nation.”

“MSSNY is so proud to have this amazing physician leader come from amongst our ranks to the highest level in our profession, a man of faith who despite humble origins, rose through grit, perseverance, and incredible intellect,” said MSSNY President David Jakubowicz, MD, FACS. “There is no harder worker than he, and I can think of no better person to lead our AMA in these turbulent times.”

In addition to his leadership roles within the AMA and MSSNY, Dr. Underwood was also a member of both the AMA and National Medical Association Commission to End Health Care Disparities, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s Urology Residency Review Committee, and the American Urological Association Public Policy Council. Dr. Underwood also served as a board member for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western and Northeastern New York, as well as for the board of commissioners of The Joint Commission. He is the co-founder of KAPS Biotechnology LLC and holds patents for co-developing a biomarker for prostate cancer.

His medical expertise has led him to co-author more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and published abstracts, and has garnered him speaker and active presenter appearances in grand rounds, webinars and TV and radio interviews.

Dr. Underwood earned his undergraduate degree in biology from Morehouse College and graduate degrees in cell biology and anatomy, and health management and policy, from State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University and the University of Michigan School of Public Health, respectively. He received his medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University and his general surgery and urologic surgery training at the University of Connecticut Health Center. After his residency, Dr. Underwood became one of the first five urologists to be admitted into the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program.

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Founded in 1807, the Medical Society of the State of New York is the state’s principal non-profit professional organization for physicians, residents, and medical students of all specialties. Its mission is to represent the interests of patients and physicians to assure quality healthcare services for all. 

Media Contact:
Roseann Raia | Manager, Communications
Medical Society of the State of New York
865 Merrick Avenue
Westbury, NY 11590
516.488.6100 x302 | [email protected]

Julie Vecchione
Vice President, Communications
Medical Society of the State of New York
865 Merrick Avenue
Westbury, NY 11590
516.488.6100 x340 | [email protected]