Lindquist and Jaenisch elected to
Institute of Medicine
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Oct. 12, 2006) — Whitehead
Members Susan
Lindquist and Rudolf
Jaenisch were among 65 scientists elected to the
Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies
this week, bringing the total IOM membership to 1,651.
Both Lindquist and Jaenisch are also professors of
biology at MIT, where Elazer R. Edelman, the Thomas
D. and Virginia W. Cabot Professor of Health Sciences,
was also elected. Lindquist and Jaenisch join Whitehead
colleagues Gerald Fink, Eric Lander and Robert Weinberg
as members of the IOM.
“It is a great pleasure to welcome these distinguished
and influential individuals to the Institute of Medicine,”
said IOM President Harvey V. Fineberg in a statement
issued by the Institute. “Members are elected
through a highly selective process that recognizes people
who have made major contributions to the advancement
of the medical sciences, health care and public health.
Election is considered one of the highest honors in
the fields of medicine and health.”
The Institute of Medicine is unique for its structure
as both an honorific membership organization and an
advisory organization. Established in 1970 by the National
Academy of Sciences, the institute has become recognized
as a national resource for independent, scientifically
informed analysis and recommendations on issues related
to human health. With their election, members make a
commitment to devote a significant amount of volunteer
time as members of IOM study committees.
Studies from the institute completed in the past year
include “The Future of Drug Safety: Promoting
and Protecting the Health of the Public,” an agenda
for addressing the vulnerabilities that have hindered
the optimal functioning of the nation's drug safety
system; “Preventing Medication Errors,”
which documents the impact of drug-related mishaps and
provides an agenda for improving the safety of medication
use; and “The Future of Emergency Care,”
a series of three reports that recommend steps to shore
up the nation's struggling emergency care system.
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