Burton Singer, a professor of public and international affairs, was one of 64 new members elected this year to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies, the IOM announced last month.
"My friends say I'm doing it backwards," Singer said, referring to his membership in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, which founded the IOM in 1970.
His election "feels like it's an additional add-on," he said, though he added that it "really feels good. These things don't happen every day."
IOM membership is an honorific title, but includes a responsibility to aid in studies that provide independent scientific advice on health issues to policymakers and the general public. Members are elected based on their achievements in their respective fields. Though most are in health professions, at least a quarter must be from other fields.
Singer is committed to being involved in IOM studies, but said that he has already been "doing this kind of stuff for 25 years. It's not a new activity, just under different auspices."
Singer has worked with the IOM before.
Last year, he ran a policy task force that looked at the public health problems associated with the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline project and presented on the subject at an IOM workshop.
One purpose of these workshops is to get "policy-related issues in the public domain that ought to be there but don't get on PBS," he said.
In addition to assigned IOM projects, Singer will continue his independent research on tropical parasitic diseases, an issue he has been interested in for the past 30 years. His research focuses on malaria in urban areas, a disease that "was once a problem [solely] of rural poverty."
This interest led him to chair a steering committee for the World Health Organization.
Singer is also interested in the biological consequence of cumulative stressful experiences, an issue that is at the "interface of psychology, sociology [and] neuroscience." He is spending most of his time studying this issue while on leave this semester at the University of Wisconsin.
Read More
GSG approves audit, delays budget approval after ‘insufferable’ meeting
Nikki HanThe final Graduate Student Government (GSG) meeting for the semester lasted more than an hour and a half when discussions over the proposed budget for the next year and a proposed Student Life Fee of $100 turned controversial.
The final Graduate Student Government (GSG) meeting for the semester lasted more than an hour and a half when discussions over the proposed budget for the next year and a proposed Student Life Fee of $100 turned controversial.
Effort to restore chapel’s pews slowly progresses
Ben GoldstonHead carpenter Jim Sullivan has been restoring the Chapel pews over the last year. The dry atmosphere of the Chapel has warped the wooden pews over the years.
Head carpenter Jim Sullivan has been restoring the Chapel pews over the last year. The dry atmosphere of the Chapel has warped the wooden pews over the years.
Metals, molecules, and medicine: chemical biology’s influence on health and sustainability
Aanya KaseraChemistry professor Chris Chang’s lab studies the chemical biology of the elements, specifically examining the roles that copper, iron, and zinc play in biology across all kingdoms of life.
Chemistry professor Chris Chang’s lab studies the chemical biology of the elements, specifically examining the roles that copper, iron, and zinc play in biology across all kingdoms of life.