Dr. Nancy Messonnier, dean and Bryson Distinguished Professor successful Public Health astatine the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. This predetermination is considered 1 of the highest honors successful the fields of wellness and medicine.
The academy recognizes individuals who person demonstrated outstanding nonrecreational accomplishment and committedness to work passim their careers. New members are elected by existent members done a process that recognizes large contributions to the advancement of the aesculapian sciences, wellness attraction and nationalist health.
Messonnier was selected for NAM rank successful 2021 and has been moving with the radical for astir a year. The pandemic delayed her ceremonial induction, but she was capable to question to Washington, D.C., successful October 2022 for predisposition and a ceremonial honoring the astir caller people of members.
“I’m incredibly honored to articulation the National Academy of Medicine,” she said. “I worked with NAM members erstwhile I was astatine the CDC and they person ever taken connected the astir important topics of the day. NAM has played a cardinal relation during the COVID-19 pandemic arsenic a non-conflicted, autarkic technological assemblage with experts from a scope of fields reasoning profoundly connected indispensable issues.”
Messonnier began her nationalist wellness vocation successful 1995 astatine the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arsenic an epidemic quality serviceman and went connected to clasp a fig of posts wrong the organization, including archetypal arsenic lawman manager and past arsenic manager of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases from 2014-2021.
Her galore accomplishments see enactment roles successful processing and implementing a low-cost vaccine to forestall epidemic meningitis successful Africa; successful responding to the 2001 anthrax attacks; and successful promoting vaccine assurance and addressing disparities successful immunization coverage.
She besides led the NCIRD effect to the COVID-19 pandemic, serving arsenic the CDC’s main designer connected the vaccine implementation programme that helped to develop, measure and administer vaccines crossed the United States.
While astatine the Skoll Foundation — a backstage instauration that invests successful societal entrepreneurs and different innovators — Messonnier continued to code the COVID-19 pandemic and worked to physique a planetary effect and preparedness strategy to forestall aboriginal pandemics.
“It is my privilege to invited this bonzer people of caller members. Their contributions to wellness and medicine are unmatched — they’ve made groundbreaking discoveries, taken bold enactment against societal inequities and led the effect to immoderate of the top nationalist wellness challenges of our time,” said National Academy of Medicine President Dr. Victor J. Dzau, successful an announcement recognizing the predetermination of 100 caller members. “This is besides the NAM’s astir divers people of caller members to date, composed of astir 50% women and 50% radical and taste minorities. This people represents galore identities and experiences — each of which are perfectly indispensable to code the existential threats facing humanity. I look guardant to moving with each of our caller members successful the years ahead.”