Claire Pomeroy, chief executive officer at UC Davis Health System, vice chancellor for Human Health Sciences and dean of the School of Medicine at UC Davis, was appointed a member of the Advisory Committee of the Office of Research on Women's Health. She is one of five new members to serve on the prestigious National Institutes of Health committee.

Advisory Committee members guide the selection of research on women's health to be conducted by the national research institutes, from sex/gender differences in clinical trials to women's health conditions that require an interdisciplinary approach. They are actively involved in reviewing the priorities and portfolio on women's health research for the National Institutes of Health, career development, and the inclusion of women and minorities in clinical research. Composed of up to 18 members who are appointed by the NIH director, committee members are physicians, practitioners, scientists and other health professionals who are not federal employees.

Pomeroy is an expert in infectious diseases and a professor of internal medicine and microbiology and immunology. She oversees UC Davis Health System and all of its academic, research and clinical programs, including the School of Medicine. With an emphasis on academic excellence and social responsibility, she fosters an institutional commitment to address the social determinants of health. She founded the Center for Reducing Health Disparities and led the establishment of Rural-PRIME, a program specifically designed to prepare physicians to practice in underserved rural communities. She leads an active research team studying host responses to viral infections. As a clinician, she is a long-time advocate for patients with HIV/AIDS. She has a special interest in health-care policy, and has led efforts to advance electronic health records to improve health care. She has published more than 100 articles and book chapters and edited three books.

The other members joining the committee include Francisco Garcia, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of Arizona; Ronda S. Henry-Tillman, M.D., F.A.C.S., from the University of Arkansas; Karen E. Kim, M.D., from the University of Chicago; and Paul F. Terranova, Ph.D., from Kansas University Medical Center.

"The wealth of diverse experiences and talents brought by these five individuals will enhance the entire committee's goal of fulfilling our mandate," said Dr. Vivian W. Pinn, director of the Office of Research on Women's Health. "The expertise our new members bring will further enable the committee to achieve its mission of advising on those research activities that will maximize women's health research resources, and developing innovative strategies to advance research careers."

Continuing members include: Margery L.S. Gass, M.D.; Ronald S. Gibbs, M.D.; Linda C. Giudice, M.D., Ph.D.; Scott J. Hultgren. Ph.D.; Paula A. Johnson, M.D.; Nancy Nielsen, M.D., Ph.D.; Mary Beth O'Connell, Pharm.D.; Mary I. O'Connor, M.D.; Sally Rosen, M.D., M.F.S.; Jeanne C. Sinkford, D.D.S., Ph.D.; Farida Sohrabji, Ph.D.; Gary E. Striker, M.D.; Debra Toney, Ph.D., R.N.

UC Davis Health System is an integrated, academic health system encompassing UC Davis School of Medicine, the 613-bed acute-care hospital and clinical services of UC Davis Medical Center, the 800-member physician group known as UC Davis Medical Group, and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.