The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has selected Anastasia Coutinho and Geoff Gusoff as the 2026 James C. Puffer, MD/American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) Fellows.

Anastasia Countinho, MD, MHS

Dr. Coutinho works at the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) in the Quality and Population Health Management Program. In her role, she supports the innovation, implementation, and quality improvement of California birthing care policies and programs. She also continues her clinical work providing labor and delivery services and clinical consultations regarding sexual and reproductive healthcare through the Reproductive Health Hotline.

Dr. Coutinho has been active in the research space, with priority interest areas including the scope of practice of family physicians and wellness within graduate medical education. In order to ensure that communities are receiving the services needed, a robust workforce of primary care physicians with comprehensive skills must be present.

Geoff Gusoff, MD, MBA, MS

Dr. Geoff Gusoff is a family physician, health services researcher, and assistant professor in the department of family medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His work explores the social and structural determinants of health, with a focus on the impacts of collective ownership models in home care.

Through an NIA REDI K01 (National Institute of Aging Research and Entrepreneurial Development Immersion) grant, he is researching the role of home care cooperatives – agencies co-owned and controlled by home care workers – in improving job quality and care quality. Clinically, Dr. Gusoff practices primary care and teaches residents at Harbor-UCLA. 

As NAM Fellows, Drs. Coutinho and Gusoff will each receive a flexible research grant to further their careers. Named in honor of James C. Puffer, MD, president and chief executive officer emeritus of the American Board of Family Medicine, the fellowship program enables talented, early-career health policy and science scholars in family medicine to participate in the work of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and further their careers as future leaders in the field. The NAM Fellows continue their main responsibilities while engaging part-time over a two-year period in the National Academies’ health and science policy work.

The National Academy of Medicine, established in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine, is an independent organization of eminent professionals from diverse fields including health and medicine; the natural, social, and behavioral sciences; and beyond.  It serves alongside the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering as an adviser to the nation and the international community. Through its domestic and global initiatives, the NAM works to address critical issues in health, medicine, and related policy and inspire positive action across sectors. The NAM collaborates closely with its peer academies and other divisions within the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

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