Two U-M faculty members have been elected to the Institute of Medicine, the health unit of the National Academy of Sciences.
Elected to the IOM were:
• Dr. Peter Polverini, dean and professor, School of Dentistry; professor of pathology, Medical School.
• Dr. Diane Simeone, Lazar J. Greenfield Professor of Surgery, professor of surgery and molecular and integrative physiology, and division chief of gastrointestinal surgery, Medical School.
The IOM was established in 1970 to advise members of Congress, congressional staff and agency leaders on a range of important health care issues.
Members are elected for their interest, concern, involvement and achievements in health care disciplines that affect public health as well as for their willingness to actively participate in IOM initiatives. This process recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions in advancing medicine and health care results. Each year the 1,700-member organization elects up to 65 new members and five foreign associates.
“It is a distinct honor and privilege to be elected to membership in this most prestigious organization,” Polverini says. “I look forward to participating in IOM commissioned activities that focus on improving the health of our nation. It is a wonderful validation of a commitment to science in service to society.”
Those selected volunteer a significant amount of time to serving on various IOM committees and participating in IOM activities.
Simeone, surgical director of the Multidisciplinary Pancreatic Cancer Clinic at the Comprehensive Cancer Center — one of a few such centers in the country focused on this disease — says she’s “grateful for the incredible honor.”
“I’ve dedicated my career toward research and improving outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer. This award is a validation of the type of work we’re trying to do to move things forward,” she says.
Polverini and Simeone will be formally inducted into the organization during its annual meeting Oct. 16-17, 2011.
