Recognizing Our Staff
The exceptional staff of the IOM/NAM and the National Academies work alongside members and volunteers to produce consensus studies, facilitate roundtables and forums, plan and execute public workshops, and more. We are grateful for the indispensable leadership and dedication of our staff since 1970. The Cecil Award, established in 2000, recognizes staff from throughout the National Academies who have demonstrated superb skill and commitment in furthering the mission of the NAM. Tributes to Cecil Award winners will be added to this page throughout 2020.
Alina Baciu, PhD, MPH, who joined the IOM in 2001, is currently a senior program officer with the NASEM Health and Medicine Division (HMD). She directs HMD’s Roundtable on Population Health Improvement, which works toward a vision of a strong, healthful, and productive society that cultivates human capital and equal opportunity. Dr. Baciu has planned over 20 public workshops in the areas of public health, population health, and health equity and has contributed to consensus studies on the National Vaccine Plan and the Healthy People Leading Health Indicators, among others. She is a leader of the annual DC Public Health Case Challenge, which aims to promote interdisciplinary, problem-based learning around a public health issue that faces the local Washington, DC, community. Prior to the National Academies, Dr. Baciu worked as a health educator at the Orange County, CA, Public Health Agency. Dr. Baciu received a Cecil Award for her achievements in 2015.
Clyde Behney became Deputy Executive Officer of the IOM in 1996 following 20 years of leadership in the congressional Office of Technology Assessment. Behney helped guide the 2015 reorganization of the IOM into the National Academy of Medicine and the new Health and Medicine Division (HMD) of the NASEM before assuming his current role as Executive Director of HMD. Behney is one of the IOM/NAM’s longest-serving leaders and has made immeasurable contributions to its mission. Behney received a Cecil Award for his service in 2001.
Guru Madhavan is the inaugural Norman R. Augustine Senior Scholar and Director of Programs at the National Academy of Engineering. During his tenure at the HMD, Madhavan, directed the analyses for making prescription medicines affordable, led the study on guiding cancer control applying principles of systems engineering, and also served as interim director of the Forum on Microbial Threats. Additionally, he led the development of SMART Vaccines – a first of its kind decision support software to prioritize new vaccines.
Linda Kilroy joined the Academies in 1996 and after 20 years of service retired in 2016. During her time Linda was instrumental in establishing a number of new Task Order Contracts with key sponsors, including federal agencies. These contracts enabled the Academies to respond rapidly when contacted by a sponsor with an urgent request. The project Linda is most proud to be associated with is Weight of the Nation: to Win We Have to Lose. The project confronted America’s obesity epidemic and reached a broad audience regarding issues on diet, food, and fat. The effort included a publication, documentary film shown on HBO, and other tools. For her work, Linda earned a Cecil Award in 2004.
Anton Bandy previously served as a Financial Officer and Deputy Director of Finance in the Health and Medicine Division (HMD) of the National Academies from June 2005 thru May 2015. During his tenure, Bandy was involved in the transition from the IFAS system to PeopleSoft Financials and developed Procurement submission forms and introduced tools like Smartsheet to improve operational processes. Bandy received a Cecil Award for his service in 2011.
Cypress Lynx staffs the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions and the Food Forum, two convening activities of the Health and Medicine Division (HMD) while serving as the Senior Program Assistant of the Food and Nutrition Board within the HMD. Since joining the IOM in October 2017, Lynx has provided research support for the DBASSE consensus study entitled Shaping Summertime Experiences: Opportunities to Promote Healthy Development and Well-Being for Children and Youth.
Leslie Sim joined the IOM in 2001 and currently serves as a Senior Program Officer leading the obesity prevention and treatment efforts. During her time at the National Academies she has worked under the Food and Nutrition Board and the Board on Children, Youth, and Families on projects mainly focused on military nutrition and support for child and adolescent health. After 18 years, she continues to champion the Academies’ mission and attributes her commitment to the report Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity? Early in her career, Sim worked on the report which exemplified the importance of science, evidence, and evaluation to inform policy change.
Cathy Liverman began her work at the Institute of Medicine in 1991. During her time at The Academies, she worked on multiple consensus studies including Preventing Childhood Obesity, Veterans at Risk: Health Effects of Mustard Gas and Lewisite, Epilepsy Across the Spectrum, and Hearing Health Care for Adults. Additionally, Liverman served on standing committees for NIOSH, NASA, and the State Department. She also participated in community service efforts with other Academies staff including Miriam’s Kitchen, Turning the Page, as well as supply drives for school supplies, holiday gifts for families in need, and hurricane relief efforts. Liverman is especially proud of being involved in the Academies’ wide staff efforts to raise funds and build a community playground for the Developing Families Center in DC. In 2005 she received the Cecil Award in recognition of her work.
Sharyl Nass joined the staff at the Institute of Medicine as a Program Officer in July 1999 and now serves as Director of the Board on Health Care Services and the National Cancer Policy Forum. Throughout her time with The Academies she has worked on numerous consensus studies, forums, roundtables, and standing committees addressing a broad range of health and science policy challenges. For example, she developed and conducted a series of consensus studies on the development and implementation of cancer biomarkers, which has influenced funding and oversight in a field that is critical to achieving the goals of precision medicine in cancer. Recently, she has worked with a team of staff and volunteers to develop and support a portfolio of work on clinician well-being. For her work, Nass earned an individual Cecil award in 2007 and a Cecil team award in 2019, as well as an IOM staff team award (2012) and an HMD mentor award (2019).
Susan Barron joined the Institute of Medicine in 1974. From 1988 until her retirement she served as executive assistant to five executive officers. She assisted leaders in accomplishing the task for shaping the IOM into the organization it is today. Barron did this by ensuring the projects ran smoothly by overseeing the drafting and submission of documents integral to the approval, proposal preparation, funding, hiring of staff, committee appointments, compliance with FACA, report preparation/review/publication/release, and closeout of various projects. Throughout her time with The Academies, Barron worked with countless staff members and said, “I am most proud that I was given the opportunity to work with such dedicated staff and that they were willing to work with me.” In 2001, Barron earned a Cecil Award and in 2011 she retired.