"We are very proud of this well deserved honor for Dr. Greene," said fellow IOM member Robert W. Mahley, MD, PhD, president, The J. David Gladstone Institutes. "His research has contributed enormously to our understanding of HIV/AIDS and a great many other important immunology issues of our time."
Greene, a professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology at the University of California, San Francisco and co-director of the federally funded UCSF-Gladstone Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), focuses on studies of the molecular basis for HIV and HTLV-I retroviral pathogenesis. He also studies the biochemical mechanisms underlying the regulation and action of the NF-kB/Rel family of eukaryotic transcription factors. The author of more than 300 scientific papers, he has been named a councilor of the American Association of Physicians and has been honored by outstanding investigator awards from the American Federation for Clinical Research and the American College of Rheumatology, among many others.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is a nonprofit organization created to provide science-based advice on matters of biomedical science, medicine, and health. An honorific membership organization chartered in 1970 as a component of the National Academy of Sciences, it works outside the framework of government to ensure scientifically informed analysis and independent guidance. Its mission is to serve as adviser to the nation to improve health.
Greene has been elected as one of 64 new members, raising the IOM's total active membership to 1,461. In addition, the Institute has honored five individuals by election to foreign associate membership, bringing the total members in that category to 79. With another 62 members holding emeritus status, the total IOM membership is now 1,602.
"It is a great pleasure to welcome these distinguished individuals as members," said IOM President Harvey V. Fineberg. "Election recognizes those who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health. It is considered one of the highest honors in these fields."
Current active members elect new members from a slate of candidates nominated for their professional achievement. A diversity of talent among members is assured by the Institute's charter, which requires that at least one-quarter be selected from fields outside the health professions--such as the social and behavioral sciences, law, engineering, and the humanities.
With their election, members make a commitment to involve themselves in the work of the Institute, which conducts studies and other activities addressing a wide range of issues in medical science, health services, public health, and health policy. Some current studies are a project to recommend appropriate nutritional standards for foods sold in schools, an evaluation of the nation's system for ensuring the safety of prescription drugs after they have reached the market, and an assessment of emergency health care in the United States and recommendations for improving it.
The Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology is one of three research institutes of J. David Gladstone Institutes, a private, nonprofit biomedical research institution. It is affiliated with UCSF, a leading university that consistently defines health care worldwide by conducting advanced biomedical research, educating graduate students in the life sciences, and providing complex patient care. For further information, visit www.gladstone.ucsf.edu and www.ucsf.edu.