University Times

Nancy Davidson

Two School of Medicine faculty members have been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), an honor that is considered among the highest in their field.

The election of Nancy E. Davidson, associate vice chancellor for cancer research and director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Centers, and Jeannette E. South-Paul, Andrew W. Mathieson Professor and chair of the Department of Family Medicine, were announced last week at IOM’s annual meeting.

Current IOM members select new ones from the health sciences, medicine and public health; election requires a commitment to volunteer on boards and in other activities carried out by IOM in its role as an independent, science-based adviser on health issues. IOM is the health branch of the National Academy of Sciences.

Jeannette South-Paul

Davidson’s research focuses on the role of hormones, particularly estrogen, on gene expression and tumor growth in breast cancer. She received her bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and medical degree from Harvard Medical School. Also the Hillman Professor of Oncology, she joined Pitt in 2009.

South-Paul studies maternal and child health as well as fitness, and maintains a family practice including maternity care. She joined Pitt in 2001 after more than two decades as a family physician in the U.S. Army. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and, in 1979, a medical degree from Pitt.

Pitt alumnus Jonathan D. Gitlin of Vanderbilt University also was one of 65 individuals elected to the Institute of Medicine this year.