October 19, 2020
Three UW faculty members elected to National Academy of Medicine; emeritus professor earns service award
The National Academy of Medicine on Monday announced the election of 100 new members, including three from the University of Washington. Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.
Patrick Heagerty, Dr. Joel Kaufman and Sean Sullivan.University of Washington
The newly elected members from the UW are Patrick Heagerty, professor of biostatistics, School of Public Health; Dr. Joel Kaufman, professor of environmental and occupational health sciences and epidemiology in the School of Public Health and of general internal medicine in the UW School of Medicine; and Sean Sullivan, dean and professor of the UW School of Pharmacy and professor of health services in the School of Public Health. In addition, David Eaton, dean and vice provost emeritus of the UW’s Graduate School, was recognized for outstanding service.
“Recognitions such as these from the National Academy of Medicine highlight the excellence of our faculty and leadership across the University of Washington,” said Mark Richards, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. “I congratulate our newest members elected to the academy for their demonstrated contributions to the field of health and their ongoing work toward better outcomes for all.”
Heagerty was recognized for his development of novel statistical models for longitudinal data to better diagnose disease, track its trajectory, and predict its outcomes. He has revolutionized how dynamic predictors are judged by their discrimination and calibration and has significantly advanced methods for randomized controlled trials.
Kaufman earned recognition for his international leadership in understanding the health effects of ambient air pollution. His research integrates the disciplines of epidemiology, clinical investigation, exposure science and toxicology. He was among the first to establish and elucidate the surprising link between air pollutants and cardiovascular disease through acceleration of atherosclerosis.
Sullivan was cited for pioneering U.S. guidelines for evidence-based drug formulary development. With insurers, he created the value-based formulary product and was the first health economist to serve on global respiratory guidelines (asthma and COPD) panels incorporating economic considerations into recommendations.
David EatonUW
Eaton was awarded the Academy’s David Rall Medal, which is given to a member who has demonstrated distinguished leadership as chair of a study committee or other such activity, showing a commitment substantially above and beyond the usual expectations. A member of the Academy since 2011, Eaton is a leader in environmental health research and policy.
Beginning with his participation on the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology from 1996 to 1999, Eaton has chaired three consensus study committees, been a member of five others and served as reviewer and review coordinator of several other projects. Most notably, under his leadership, the Committee on the Review of the Health Effects of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems authored an impactful report in 2018 on the public health consequences of e-cigarettes that is still cited widely today.
As a committee chair, Eaton is known for encouraging camaraderie among committee members, allowing for collective thinking to evolve while balancing the need to bring ideas into a cohesive report, helping facilitate agreement among members by drawing them back to the evidence and bringing together the talents and expertise of all involved to the final product.
Tag(s): Joel Kaufman • Patrick Heagerty • School of Pharmacy • School of Public Health • Sean D. Sullivan
