Pitt Faculty Members and Alum Elected to Institute of Medicine
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 19, 2011 – Two faculty members and an alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), an honor that is considered among the highest in the field.
The elections of Nancy E. Davidson, M.D., professor of medicine, associate vice chancellor for cancer research, and director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Centers, and Jeannette E. South-Paul, M.D., Andrew W. Mathieson Professor and chair, Department of Family Medicine, were announced at the IOM’s 41st annual meeting on Monday. Jonathan D. Gitlin, M.D., of Vanderbilt University, who received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Pitt and serves on the medical school’s Board of Visitors, was also elected.
In a statement, IOM President Harvey V. Fineberg said, “Each of these new members stands out as a professional whose research, knowledge, and skills have significantly advanced health and medicine, and their achievements are an inspiration.”
Current IOM members select new ones from the health sciences, medicine and public health in a rigorous process, and election requires a commitment to volunteer on boards and in other activities carried out by IOM in its role as an independent, science-based advisor on health issues. The IOM was established in 1970 as the health branch of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Davidson’s research focuses on the role of hormones, particularly estrogen, on gene expression and tumor growth in breast cancer. She received her bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and medical degree from Harvard Medical School. Also the Hillman Professor of Oncology, she joined Pitt in 2009.
Dr. South-Paul studies maternal and child health as well as fitness, and maintains an active family practice including maternity care. She joined Pitt in 2001 after more than two decades as a family physician in the U.S. Army. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and, in 1979, a medical degree from Pitt.
Dr. Gitlin’s research explores fundamental aspects of nutrition, with an emphasis on copper metabolism. He received his medical degree from Pitt in 1978. Paul A. Offit, M.D., of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who completed his residency training at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, was also one of the 65 people elected to IOM this year.