Awards

IU Southeast Distinguished Alumni Award - 2021

Bicentennial Medal - 2019

About William E. Cooke

Dr. William Cooke, a native of New Albany, Indiana, is a proud graduate of Indiana University Southeast (1994), earned his medical degree with honors from the Indiana University School of Medicine (2001), and completed his family medicine residency at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital (2004). He is board certified in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Dr. Cooke is a nationally recognized physician, educator, speaker, and advocate whose work has focused on improving access to high-quality healthcare in rural and underserved communities. He is a frequent invited speaker and content expert on topics related to addiction, rural health, social drivers of health, and integrated care, and has provided expert testimony and briefings, including presentations before a U.S. Senate committee.

During the 2015 HIV outbreak in Scott County, Indiana, the largest drug-related HIV outbreak in U.S. history, he helped lead the local medical response and worked alongside community, state, and federal partners to build a comprehensive model of care. The response transformed Scott County into a national example of integrated HIV, hepatitis C, addiction, and primary care, contributing to exceptional HIV viral suppression rates, declining hepatitis C infections, and expanded access to recovery services.

Throughout his career, Dr. Cooke has been recognized for innovation, leadership, and service. He has received the Indiana Academy of Family Physicians Family Physician of the Year Award, the American Academy of Family Physicians Physician of the Year Award, the Indiana Rural Health Association’s Doc Hollywood Award, the Indiana State Health Commission’s Award for Exceptional Public Health Service, the Addiction Policy Forum’s Pillar of Excellence Award, the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award from the Indiana Center for AIDS Research, and the Indiana University Bicentennial Medal. In 2024, Indiana University Southeast recognized him with its Distinguished Alumni Award.

Today, Dr. Cooke serves in multiple leadership roles in family medicine, addiction medicine, behavioral health, and rural health innovation. His work includes developing integrated models of care that bring together primary care, behavioral health, addiction treatment, maternal health, infectious disease care, and community partnerships to improve health outcomes in underserved communities throughout Indiana and beyond.

Dr. Cooke is the author of Canary in the Coal Mine, published by Tyndale House Publishers, which chronicles his experiences serving a rural Indiana community during one of the nation’s most significant public health crises. He continues to practice medicine in southern Indiana, where he lives with his wife, Melissa.