The National Academy of Sciences announced the election of two U-M professors: Dr. David Ginsburg and James House.
Ginsburg is a Life Sciences Institute (LSI) research professor and the James V. Neel Distinguished University Professor in the Medical School; House is the Angus Campbell Collegiate Professor of Sociology and Survey Research and a research professor in the Institute for Social Research.
Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors bestowed upon scientists, in recognition of distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
Since joining the faculty in 1985, Ginsburg’s career has been distinguished in both medical practice and basic genetics research. He is the former chief of medical genetics in the Department of Internal Medicine, a past-president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ginsburg also holds an appointment as an investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Ginsburg’s groundbreaking work in the field of medical genetics has generated a body of novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying life-threatening bleeding disorders. In addition to his election, Ginsburg also is the recipient of several prestigious research awards, including the ASCI Award and the Basic Research Prize of the American Heart Association, among others. Based on his discoveries, a series of new diagnostic tools and therapeutic stratagems are under development for clinical use.
House joined the faculty in 1978. An internationally recognized expert on the complex ways in which psychosocial and economic factors affect stress and health, House also is affiliated with the School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Gerontology. He has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine.
His body of distinguished social science research includes work on how social relationships influence health, how work and retirement affect health and wellbeing in older age, and how marital quality changes through life. House also has conducted research showing how volunteering is related to mortality among older adults, how urban living affects mortality, and how socioeconomic disparities in health change over time. His research has been funded by the National Institutes on Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The May 1 election of 72 new members for 2007 was held during the business session of the 144th annual meeting of the academy. Those elected bring the total number of active members to 2,025.
