The 21 New Women Members of the National Academy of Medicine

The National Academy of Medicine, formerly known as the Institute for Medicine, was founded in 1970. Election to the National Academy of Medicine is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. With the 70 new members, there are now 1,826 active fellows of the National Academy of Medicine along with 137 foreign associates.

An analysis of the list of the 70 new members of the National Academy of Medicine by WIAReport finds that 21, or 30 percent, are women. Most have current affiliations with academic institutions.

(L to R) Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Diane Feickert Birt, Rena Bizios, Linda Burnes Bolton, Kathleen R. Cho, Sarah Cleaveland, and Tejal A. Desai

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo is a professor of medicine, epidemiology, and biostatistics and holds the Lee Goldman, M.D., Endowed Chair in Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. She earned her medical degree at the University of California, Berkeley.

Diane Feickert Birt is a distinguished professor emerita in the department of food science and human nutrition in College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Human Sciences at Iowa State University. Dr. Birt joined the faculty at Iowa State in 1997.

Rena Bizios is the Peter T. Flawn Professor in the department of biomedical engineering at the University of Texas, San Antonio. Professor Bizios holds a master’s degree from the California Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Linda Burnes Bolton is vice president and chief nurse executive at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Dr. Burnes Bolton is a past president of the American Academy of Nursing and the National Black Nurses Association. She is a trustee at Case Western Reserve University. A graduate of Arizona State University, Dr. Burnes Bolton holds two master’s degrees and a doctorate in public health from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Kathleen R. Cho is the Peter A. Ward Professor of Pathology and vice chair for academic affairs at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor. She has been on the faculty at the medical school since 1998. She is a graduate of Yale University and received her medical degree at Vanderbilt University.

Sarah Cleaveland is a professor of comparative epidemiology at the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health, and Comparative Medicine at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Dr. Cleaveland obtained a veterinary degree from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Tejal A. Desai is a professor and chair of the department of bioengineering and therapeutic sciences in the School of Pharmacy and the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. She joined the faculty at the university in 2005. Professor Desai is a graduate of Brown University and earned a Ph.D. in bioengineering in a joint program operated by the Berkeley and San Francisco campuses of the University of California.

(L to R) Julie A. Freischlag, Melissa Lynn Gilliam, Anna Huttenlocher, Frances E. Jensen, Beth Y. Karlan, Vivian S. Lee, and Laurie Kay McCauley

Julie A. Freischlag is dean of School of Medicine and vice chancellor for human health sciences at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Freischlag is a graduate of the University of Illinois and earned her medical degree at Rush University Medical College in Chicago.

Melissa Lynn Gilliam is dean for diversity and inclusion and a professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics at the University of Chicago. Dr. Gilliam is a graduate of Harvard Medical School.

Anna Huttenlocher is the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the departments of pediatrics, medical microbiology, and immunology at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. Dr. Huttenlocher is a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio and Harvard Medical School.

Frances E. Jensen is a professor and chair of the department of neurology and co-director of the Penn Medicine Translational Neuroscience Center at the Perelman School of Medicine of University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Jensen is a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and the Cornell University Medical College.

Beth Y. Karlan is a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the Women’s Cancer Program and director of the division of gynecologic oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Dr. Karlan is a graduate of Harvard Medical School.

Vivian S. Lee is the A. Lorris Betz Senior Vice President for Health Sciences in the department of radiology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. A graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Lee earned a Ph.D. in medical engineering as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.

Laurie Kay McCauley is the William K. and Mary Ann Najjar Professor and dean of the School of Dentistry at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She has been on the faculty at the university since 1992. Dr. McCauley holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, a doctorate in dental medicine, and a Ph.D., all from Ohio State University.

(L to R) Joan W. Miller, Laura Elizabeth Niklason, Elizabeth Odilile Ofili, Bonnie W. Ramsey, Valerie F. Reyna, Susan E. Skochelak, and Marita G. Titler

Joan W. Miller is the Henry Willard Williams Professor of Ophthalmology and chair of the department of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. She is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School.

Laura Elizabeth Niklason is a professor and vice chair of anesthesia and biomedical engineering at Yale University. Dr. Niklason holds a medical degree from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

Elizabeth Odilile Ofili is the senior associate dean for clinical and translational research, professor of medicine, and director of the Clinical Research Center at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. She earned her medical degree at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria and a master of public health degree from Johns Hopkins University.

Bonnie W. Ramsey is the director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and an endowed professor and vice chair for research in the department of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. Dr. Ramsey is a graduate of Harvard Medical School.

Valerie F. Reyna is the director of the Human Neuroscience Institute; co-director, Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision Research; co-director, Cornell Magnetic Resonance Imaging Facility; and professor of human development at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Dr. Reyna is a graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and earned a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Rockefeller University in New York.

Susan E. Skochelak is professor emerita of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She is group vice president for medical education at the American Medical Association in Chicago. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School.

Marita G. Titler holds the Rhetaugh G. Dumas Endowed Chair and is chair of the department of systems, populations, and leadership at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. Dr. Titler is a graduate of Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing from the University of Iowa.