At its annual meeting today, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) honored three members for their outstanding service. The honorees are Susan J. Curry, dean emeritus and distinguished professor of health management and policy at the University of Iowa; Claire D. Brindis, emerita director of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco; and John R. Ball, former executive vice president of the American College of Physicians.
Susan J. Curry
Curry received the Walsh McDermott Medal, which recognizes a member for distinguished service to the NAM and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine over an extended period. A national leader in preventive medicine and public health, Curry has made foundational contributions to tobacco cessation, health behavior change, and evidence-based prevention, while also serving at the highest levels of academic and government leadership.
Elected to the NAM in 2010, Curry’s service to the NAM and National Academies has spanned more than two decades, during which she has strengthened governance, safeguarded scientific integrity, guided influential consensus work, and remained steadfast during moments of national urgency and institutional transition. In addition to most recently serving as co-chair of the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee from 2023-2026 and on its Governing Board from 2020-2024, Curry was on the Executive Committee of the NAM Council from 2019-2025. Curry has also been a member of three consensus study committees as well as the Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice from 2014-2020 and the National Cancer Policy Board from 1999-2002.
Claire Brindis
Brindis received the Adam Yarmolinsky Medal, which is awarded to a member from a discipline outside the health and medical sciences. Her distinguished career has focused on program evaluation and the translation of research into policy at the local, state, and national levels, with a focus on ameliorating the impacts of social, health, and economic disparities, especially for women, young adults, and adolescents.
Brindis was elected to the NAM in 2011. She is currently a member of the Center for Health, People, and Places committee and chair of the Division Committee for the Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Brindis served on the NAM Council from 2018-2024, including as its vice chair from 2021-2024. Over the past 20 years, Brindis has dedicated her time as a member of seven consensus study committees, including the Committee on Preventive Services for Women, whose recommendations on breast and cervical care screening and free breast pumps for lactating women were adopted in the Affordable Care Act. Other committee work has focused on improving health outcomes for children with disabilities and reducing and preventing teen motor vehicle crashes, among other studies related to improving outcomes for mothers and children.
John Ball
Ball is the recipient of the David Rall Medal, which is given to a member who has demonstrated distinguished leadership as chair of a study committee or other such activity. Ball has chaired multiple consensus committees, such as Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, Evaluation of Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints in Chronic Disease, Improving Breast Imaging Quality Standards, and Essential Health Benefits: Balancing Coverage and Cost. Ball’s expertise, diplomacy, and motivational leadership have contributed to effective study processes and elevated the reports he has chaired. For example, Improving Diagnosis in Health Care is one of the most downloaded reports of the National Academies and has spurred substantive research programs on diagnostic error, including a new initiative supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and an $85 million initiative on diagnostic excellence from the Moore Foundation. Elected to the NAM in 1991, Ball’s service to the National Academies includes serving as a report reviewer.
“These members exemplify the highest standards of leadership and impact through their sustained contributions to the National Academies and their respective fields,” said National Academy of Medicine President Monica M. Bertagnolli. “Their dedication to translating research into meaningful policy and practice and guiding influential consensus studies has strengthened the institution, advanced public health, and improved lives.”
The National Academy of Medicine, established in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine, is an independent organization of eminent professionals from diverse fields including health and medicine; the natural, social, and behavioral sciences; and beyond. It serves alongside the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering as an adviser to the nation and the international community. Through its domestic and global initiatives, the NAM works to address critical issues in health, medicine, and related policy and inspire positive action across sectors. The NAM collaborates closely with its peer academies and other divisions within the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
