Five Black Scholars Inducted Into the Institute of Medicine

The Institute of Medicine’s mission is to serve as adviser to the nation to improve health. The institute provides unbiased, evidence-based, and authoritative information and advice concerning health and science to policymakers, professionals, leaders in every sector of society, and the public at large. Election to membership is an honor but carries with it a commitment to public service.

There is no official data on the race of the institute’s members. But JBHE has determined that five of this year’s 65 inductees are African American.

Here are brief biographies of the new black members:

Michael R. DeBaun holds the Ferring Family Chair in Pediatric Cancer and Related Disorders and is professor of biostatistics and neurology at the School of Medicine of Washington University in St. Louis. A graduate of Howard University, he received his medical training at Stanford University.

Joan Y. Reede is an associate professor of medicine and dean for diversity and community partnership at Harvard Medical School. She is the first black woman to hold the position of dean at the medical school. Dr. Reede is a graduate of Brown University and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

John A. Rich is a professor and chair of the department of health management and policy in the School of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Dr. Rich received his medical training at Duke University School of Medicine. He also holds a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University.

Griffin P. Rodgers is director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Rodgers earned bachelor’s, master’s, and medical degrees from Brown University. He later earned an MBA from Johns Hopkins University.

Selwyn M. Vickers is Jay Phillips Professor and chair of the department of surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis. He received bachelor’s and medical degrees at Johns Hopkins University. His research is focused on gene therapy for pancreatic cancer.

Copyright © 2009. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.