Bethesda, Maryland - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has selected seven individuals to serve as members of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD). Since 1966, the ACD has advised the NIH Director on policy and planning issues.

"These seven outstanding new members to the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director join a dedicated team of esteemed advisors," said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. "The NIH relies on the willingness of these great minds and the efforts of other scientists and public members who participate on advisory councils and peer-review committees."

The ACD advises the NIH Director on policy matters important to the NIH mission of conducting and supporting biomedical and behavioral research, research training, and translating research results for the public.
The new members, who join 13 current members of the council, are Catherine D. DeAngelis, M.D., MPH, of Chicago, Illinois; Karen A. Holbrook, Ph.D., of Columbus, Ohio; Ralph I. Horwitz, M.D., of Stanford, California; Mary-Claire King, Ph.D., of Seattle, Washington; Alan, I. Leshner, Ph.D., of Washington, District of Columbia; John C. Nelson, M.D., MPH, FACOG, FACPM, of Chicago, Illinois; and Barbara L. Wolfe, Ph.D., of Seattle, Washington.

Catherine D. DeAngelis, M.D., MPH, is editor-in-chief of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association; editor-in-chief of Scientific Publications and Multimedia Applications; and Professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She received her M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine; her MPH from the Harvard Graduate School of Public Health (Health Services Administration); and her pediatric specialty training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. DeAngelis oversees JAMA as well as nine Archives publications and JAMA related Web site content. Dr. DeAngelis is a past council member of the National Academy of Science, Institute of Medicine, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has served as an officer of numerous national academic societies, including former chairman of the American Board of Pediatrics and chair of the Pediatric Accreditation Council for the Residency Review Committee of the American Council on Graduate Medical Education.

Karen A. Holbrook, Ph.D., is president of The Ohio State University, and professor of Physiology and Cell Biology and Medicine (Dermatology) in the College of Medicine. Dr. Holbrook earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Ph.D. in biological structure from the University of Washington School of Medicine. She came to Ohio State from the University of Georgia, where she served as senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, as well as professor of cell biology and adjunct professor of anatomy and cell biology and medicine at the Medical College of Georgia. Prior to these roles, she served at the University of Florida at Gainesville as vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School, as well as professor of anatomy and cell biology and medicine (dermatology). She spent the majority of her academic career as a professor of biological structure and medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, where her research focused on human fetal skin development and genetic skin disease.

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