Katherine Whittaker Ferrara, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis. Following B.S. and M.S. degrees from California State University, Sacramento, Dr. Ferrara received her Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Ferrara was a principal member of the research staff at the Riverside Research Institute, New York, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Cornell University Medical School. In addition, she was an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Dr. Ferrara is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectronics and Frequency Control. She has conducted research and written extensively on medical imaging and biomedical signal processing, particularly in the areas of ultrasonics and acoustics.

David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., former Surgeon General of the United States and Assistant Secretary for Health at DHHS, is currently Director of the Center of Excellence on Health Disparities and the Poussaint-Satcher-Cosby Chair in Mental Health at Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Satcher received his M.D. and Ph.D. (cytogenetics) from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Satcher was Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in Atlanta, Georgia from 1993 to 1998. Following the end of his term as Surgeon General, he became a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, DC. Prior to joining DHHS, he was President of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Satcher is a former Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar and Macy Faculty Fellow. He is the recipient of many honorary degrees and numerous distinguished honors, including top awards from the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians.


Members of the Advisory Council are drawn from the scientific communities, are appointed for 4-year terms, and represent all areas within the Institute’s research mission.

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is dedicated to improving human health through the integration of the physical and biological sciences. The research agenda of the NIBIB seeks to dramatically advance the Nation’s health by improving the detection, management, understanding, and ultimately, the prevention of disease. Additional information and publications are available at http://www.nibib.nih.gov/.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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