BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Nancy H. Nielsen, M.D., Ph.D., senior associate dean for medical education and a clinical professor of medicine at the University at Buffalo, has been elected a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences.

IOM membership is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

Election to the IOM by the current membership is based on professional achievement and demonstrated interest, concern and involvement with problems and critical issues that affect the health of the public.

UB Provost Satish K. Tripathi said, "We, as a university community, heartily congratulate Dr. Nielsen upon her recognition by the Institute of Medicine as an unparalleled leader in the fields of health and medicine. Dr. Nielsen has and continues to bring the strength of her enlightened voice to our nation's most pressing challenges concerning health care. As a national leader, she has been absolutely indefatigable in her efforts and her election as a member of the IOM people is a true validation of her inspired work.

"Election to the Institute of Medicine is a rare honor, and for those at the top of their field, membership in the IOM reflects the height of professional achievement and commitment to service. The IOM's mission is to serve as an adviser to the nation by addressing the most pressing questions related health and health care. As a member, Dr. Nielsen will apply her expertise to the work of the IOM on behalf of the nation's health. We are proud of her achievement and of the contributions we know she will continue to make."

Nielsen said she is "honored and humbled" by election to the IOM.

She is past president of the American Medical Association, and in that role has been an outspoken advocate for the uninsured. She has lectured widely and carried her message to the public on numerous radio and television news programs and talk shows.

She was elected president of the AMA in June 2008 after serving four terms as speaker of the AMA House of Delegates and three terms as vice speaker. She currently is a member of the IOM's Roundtable on Evidence Based Medicine and on the Consumer Empowerment Committee of America's Health Information Community.

Nielsen holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from The Catholic University of America and an M.D. degree from UB. She served two terms on the AMA Council on Scientific Affairs helping to formulate policy positions on several critical health care issues, including alcoholism among women, Alzheimer's disease, colorectal screening, asthma control, nicotine content of cigarettes, safety in dispensing prescriptions, and diagnosis and treatment of depression.

Additionally, she served on the National Patient Safety Foundation board of directors, the Commission for the Prevention of Youth Violence, the Task Force on Quality and Patient Safety and as the AMA representative on the National Quality Forum, the AMA-convened Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement® and the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance.

Other UB faculty elected to the IOM include Robert J. Genco, M.D., Ph.D., SUNY Distinguished Professor in the School of Dental Medicine and School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and vice provost and director of UB's Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR), and UB emeriti faculty J. Warren Perry, Ph.D., and Gerhard Levy, PharmD.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. The School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is one of the five schools comprising UB's Academic Health Center. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.