Sarah C. Nosal, MD, FAAFP

Sarah C. Nosal, MD, FAAFP, is president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). The Academy represents 124,500 physicians and medical students nationwide. As board president, Nosal advocates on behalf of family physicians and patients to inspire positive change in the U.S. health care system.

Championing innovation and equitable care

Nosal is vice president for innovation and optimization and chief medical information officer (CMIO) at The Institute for Family Health, a federally qualified health center network with more than 27 Mid-Hudson, Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn locations. Over nearly two decades of practicing in the South Bronx, Nosal has consistently achieved top-tier performance metrics within her organization. As CMIO, she secured financial support for information technology infrastructure and helped her institution become a regional leader in data sharing and ensuring equitable information access.

As physician lead, Nosal was instrumental in shaping the Institute’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the transition to a new normal, and the rollout of comprehensive telehealth services and vaccination sites. Nosal is an assistant professor in the Mount Sinai Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. There, she focuses on the care of marginalized communities and the uninsured. She has shared the role of medical director for student-run free clinics for New York University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Strengthening family medicine through leadership and service

A member of the AAFP since 2004, she has served as chair of the AAFP Commission on Membership and Member Services and chair of the commission’s Special Constituencies Subcommittee. She also led the awards discussions within the Membership and Member Services Commission. In 2014, Nosal served as convener of the National Conference of Special Constituencies. Her earliest New York State Academy of Family Physicians (NYSAFP) role was as resident delegate to the NYSAFP Congress of Delegates. She subsequently served the NYSAFP board of directors in numerous roles, including as president of the state academy and, most recently, as NYSAFP delegate to the AAFP Congress of Delegates.

Since she was a medical student, Nosal has been an active member of the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY). She has served as chair of the MSSNY Primary Care Caucus and she currently serves as co-chair of the Committee on Preventive Medicine and Family Health and on the Bronx County Medical Society’s Comitia Minora.

Nosal earned bachelor’s degrees in biology and psychology from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. She earned her medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York. She completed her residency in urban family practice through the Beth Israel Medical Center and The Institute for Family Health in New York, New York.

Nosal is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. She has the AAFP Degree of Fellow, an earned degree awarded to family physicians for distinguished service and continuing medical education.