Newswise — Two UC San Francisco faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) this year, one of the highest honors in the field of health and medicine.
This year, the UCSF faculty to join this distinguished group are Alicia Fernandez, MD, professor of medicine, for her work on how language and literacy barriers impact patient care and outcomes, and Nola M. Hylton, PhD, a professor of radiology and biomedical imaging who helped develop magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for breast cancer.
Membership in the NAM recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievements and commitment to service in the medical sciences, health care and public health. The academy elects no more than 100 members a year.
Fernandez, a general internist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, is being honored for her work on challenges that face millions of patients with limited English proficiency.
A champion of workforce diversity and health equity, Fernandez serves as the associate dean of Population Health and Health Equity for UCSF’s School of Medicine and is the founding director of the UCSF Latinx Center of Excellence, which is funded by UCSF and the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to increase academic diversity.
She also directs the Latinx and Immigrant Health Research Program at the UCSF Action Research Center for Health Equity (ARC). which generates actionable research to increase health equity and reduce healthcare disparities.
Hylton, director of UCSF’s Breast Imaging Research Group, is an internationally known leader in the field of breast MRI. NAM credited her work in the early development of MRI imaging for the detection, diagnosis, and staging of breast cancer for improving the health of millions of women globally.
Her research focuses on the development and clinical evaluation of MRI techniques for characterizing breast cancers and assessing their response to treatment. Her laboratory collaborates closely with radiologists, surgeons, oncologists and science researchers around the country to optimize MRI techniques for breast cancer patients.
NAM also elected David Rowitch, MD, PHD, who serves as adjunct professor of pediatrics at UCSF.
Rowitch’s primary affiliations are with the University of Cambridge (UK) and Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s in Los Angeles.
The physician-scientist was honored for his work in establishing the fundamental genetic mechanisms that determine glial cell development in the brain and providing insight into causes of leukodystrophy, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy.
New members to the NAM are elected by current active members. This year’s elections bring UCSF’s membership to 124.
The NAM, established in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine, is an independent organization of eminent professionals from diverse fields, including health and medicine; the natural, social and behavioral sciences; and beyond. It serves alongside the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering as an adviser to the national and the international community.
About UCSF: The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health, which serves as UCSF’s primary academic medical center, includes top-ranked specialty hospitals and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area. UCSF School of Medicine also has a regional campus in Fresno. Learn more at https://ucsf.edu or see our Fact Sheet.
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