October 25, 2005

Four Penn School of Medicine Faculty Named to Institute of Medicine

(Philadelphia, PA) - Four faculty members from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine were elected yesterday to the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Two other Penn faculty were also elected, bringing the total to six Penn professors in this year’s list of 64 new members and five foreign associates.

“Having one faculty member elected to the Institute of Medicine is cause for great celebration; but having four faculty elected simultaneously to this esteemed body is an extraordinarily significant honor,” said Dr. Arthur H. Rubenstein, Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and Dean of the School of Medicine. “Indeed, Penn is privileged and proud that four of our most distinguished and capable physician-scientists have been named to one of America’s premier institutions, which is synonymous with excellence in professional achievement and contribution.”

The new Penn IOM members are:

	Larry R. Kaiser, MD, professor and chair, department of surgery, School of Medicine
	Virginia M.-Y. Lee, PhD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, School of Medicine
	Stanley A. Plotkin, MD, emeritus professor of pediatrics, School of Medicine
	Virginia A. Stallings, MD, professor of pediatrics, School of Medicine
	Marjorie K. Jeffcoat, DMD, Dean of the School of Dental Medicine
	Mary D. Naylor, PhD, professor of gerontology, School of Nursing

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to honor professional achievement in the health sciences and to serve as a national resource for independent analysis and recommendations on issues related to medicine, biomedical sciences, and health.

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PENN Medicine is a $2.7 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn’s School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #4 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System comprises: its flagship hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, consistently rated one of the nation’s “Honor Roll” hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home health care and hospice.

This release is available online at http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/oct05/IOM.htm