News Release

UNC's Pisano, Rimer elected to Institute of Medicine

Grant and Award Announcement

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

CHAPEL HILL – Two University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty members have been elected to the Institute of Medicine, considered one of the nation's highest honors for those in the fields of health and medicine.

Etta Pisano, M.D., vice dean for academic affairs in the UNC School of Medicine, and Barbara K. Rimer, Dr.P.H., dean of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, are among the 65 new members announced by the institute on Monday (Oct. 13).

The institute, part of the National Academy of Sciences, has about 1,700 members, including 17 from UNC with the addition of Pisano and Rimer. Current members elect new members from among candidates nominated for their accomplishments and contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health. Members commit to volunteer on institute committees, which carry out a broad range of studies on health policy issues.

Pisano has served as vice dean for academic affairs in the School of Medicine since 2006, She is also Kenan Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, director of the UNC Biomedical Research Imaging Center and a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research focuses on improving breast imaging and its role in cancer diagnosis. She was principal investigator of the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial, a large multicenter trial that evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of digital versus film mammography.

Rimer, a behavioral scientist, was appointed dean of the public health school in 2005. She is the Alumni Distinguished Professor in the school's department of health behavior and health education. Rimer served in several academic and government positions before coming to the school, including at the Lineberger Center, Duke University School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. Rimer is the first woman and first behavioral scientist to serve as the school's dean.

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For more information about the institute, go to http://www.iom.edu.

School of Medicine contact: Tom Hughes, (919) 966-6047, tahughes@unch.unc.edu
Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, (919) 966-7467, ramona_dubose@unc.edu
News Services contact: Patric Lane, (919) 962-8596, patric_lane@unc.edu


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