Biographies of the 2016 Laureate Award Honorees

In 2016, the Texas Chapter presented its highest award to three distinguished members - Robert E. Jackson, MD, MACP and James Sawyer, MD, FACP.

The Laureate Award honors Fellows and Masters of the ACP who have demonstrated by their example and conduct an abiding commitment to excellence in medical care, education, or research, and in service to their community, the Chapter, and the ACP.

Read their biographies by clicking on their name:

Robert E. Jackson, MD, MACP

Robert Jackson, MD, MACP is a native Houstonian and a second generation internist. Robert graduated with a degree in botany with Phi Beta Kappa honors from the University of Texas at Austin and then earned a Masters of Arts in botany from UT. He was awarded a botanical scholarship to study in Venezuela.

He graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch and moved to San Francisco for his internal medicine internship. He then returned to Houston to complete internal medicine training at the Baylor College of Medicine.

Robert has practiced internal medicine in since 1984, initially with a group and for the past 9 years, as a solo practitioner. He has been an integral member of the medical staff at Houston Methodist, holding multiple elected positions including Chief of the Medical Staff. He has been an attending on the teaching service at Methodist for many years and now holds the rank of Clinical Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Robert became a Fellow in the ACP in 2000 and was elected Southeast Director of the Texas ACP in 2004. Since that time, Robert has held multiple leadership positions in the Chapter including President of the Texas ACP and ACP Services. In 2011, he became Governor for Texas Southern ACP. During his tenure as Governor, our chapter was awarded the prestigious John Tooker

Evergreen Award for Chapter Innovation for 4 consecutive years. On the national level, Dr. Jackson was the Vice-Chair for the Awards Committee and was a member of the Member Insurance Committee as well as the Advisory Board for Patient Partnership.

Dr. Jackson was awarded Mastership in the ACP in 2015 in recognition of his distinguished career and service to internal medicine. He has served as a mentor to countless medical students, residents and practicing physicians. Robert embodies the highest ideals of our profession and it is with pride that he is recognized as a Texas ACP Chapter Laureate.


James Sawyer, MD, FACP


Jim Sawyer is a native of Huntsville, Alabama. He graduated from Birmingham-Southern College with Phi Beta Kappa honors.

He attended medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and then moved to Texas for post-graduate training. He was an intern and resident in internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and then served as Chief Resident at St. Luke’s Hospital.

After training he stayed on as faculty at Baylor for 2 years at the Methodist Hospital. He then moved to Longview, Texas where he was in solo practice of internal medicine for 14 years. Since 1996, he has been a staff physician in Diagnostic Clinic of Longview, a multi-specialty group in Longview. He has been President of the Medical Staff at Good Shepherd Medical Center as well as Chief of Staff at Longview Regional Hospital.

Dr. Sawyer has been a Fellow in the ACP since 1992. In 2002, he was elected to the Board of the Texas Academy of Internal Medicine (now the Texas ACP). He became President of the chapter in 2006. He demonstrated outstanding leadership and commitment as a Board
member and officer. In addition to his activities with ACP, Dr. Sawyer has served as a preceptor for medical students on ambulatory care rotations. For his outstanding teaching, he received a Teacher of Distinction Award from UTMB. He has also been a volunteer on the medical staff at an HIV clinic in East Texas.

Dr. Sawyer has a strong commitment to improving the health of his own patients as well as his community at large. He has been President of the Longview chapter of the American Heart Association. He has been a Board member of Refuge International and has made numerous medical mission trips to Guatemala.

Throughout his career, Dr. Sawyer has led by example. He has cared for his patients with clinical excellence, compassion and a commitment to the ideals of the ACP. The Texas ACP is proud to recognize Dr. James Sawyer as a Texas chapter Laureate.