UW News

November 28, 2012

UW to host Institute of Medicine regional meeting Dec. 6

News and Information

The Institute of Medicine, an independent nonprofit organization that provides advice to members of Congress and other decision makers on how to advance the nation’s health and health care, will hold a regional meeting Dec. 6 at Kane Hall on the University of Washington campus.

Institute of Medicine logoChristopher J.L. Murray, UW professor of global health and director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, will give a public talk, “Global Burden of Disease: Implications for the United States,” from 4 to 5:30 p.m. To register, go to www.iom.edu/SeattlePublicReg.

Murray’s talk is a preview of the publication of a long-awaited study from the institute involving hundreds of researchers around the world. The Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2010 Study, to be published in The Lancet on Dec. 14, will look at the biggest burden of disease for 21 regions and three time periods – 1990, 2005 and 2010. The results reveal substantial shifts during the past 20 years, including that more young adults than children are dying, and that there has been a rise in noncommunicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

Paul Ramsey, CEO of UW Medicine and dean of the UW School of Medicine, will also speak.

Since the 1970 inception of the Institute of Medicine, 53 UW faculty members have been elected.

The institute is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, which was chartered in 1863 and has expanded into what is collectively known as the National Academies, which in addition to the institute also include the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council.

Each year, more than 2,000 members and nonmembers volunteer their time, knowledge, and expertise to advance the nation’s health through the institute’s work.