UW News

October 24, 2005

Rivara elected to Institute of Medicine

Frederick P. Rivara, M.D., M.P.H., has been elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. The IOM, chartered in 1970 as a component of the National Academy of Sciences, provides science-based advice on matters of biomedical science, medicine and health. Members are elected on the basis of their professional achievement and their demonstrated interest, concern and involvement with problems and critical issues that affect the health of the public.

The George Adkins Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington (UW), Rivara is also a UW adjunct professor of epidemiology. Rivara is head of the UW Division of General Pediatrics, vice chair for academic affairs for the UW Department of Pediatrics, and a core faculty member at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, where he served as director from 1987 until 2000.

Rivara is also editor of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, the oldest pediatric journal in the U.S. He is a faculty member at the UW’s Child Health Institute, and an attending physician at Harborview Medical Center, and Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Institute of Medicine, which was established to honor professional achievement in the health sciences and to serve as a national resource for independent analysis and recommendations on issues related to medicine, biomedical sciences, and health.

“As the Institute of Medicine celebrates this milestone, it is a great pleasure to welcome these distinguished individuals as members,” says IOM President Harvey V. Fineberg. “Election recognizes those who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health. It is considered one of the highest honors in these fields.”

Rivara’s career has been devoted to the study of methods to control injuries, specifically in such areas as bicycle and pedestrian injuries, motor vehicle injuries, alcohol-related trauma, and intentional injuries. His current interests include examining the cost-effectiveness of trauma care, the impact of domestic violence on women and children, and the effectiveness of interventions in childhood and adolescence on later health outcomes. His goal is to turn public policy attention to implementation of programs that can have a long-term impact on the health of children and adults.

The IOM is broadly based in the biomedical sciences and health professions, as well as related aspects of the behavioral and social sciences, administration, law, the physical sciences, and engineering. It is concerned with the protection and advancement of the health professions and sciences, the promotion of research and development pertinent to health, and the improvement of health care.

Rivara is one of 64 new members elected to the IOM, raising the organization’s active membership to 1,461.