Professor elected to national Institute of Medicine

Michael F. Fleming, a professor of family medicine at the UW Medical School, is among the 62 new physicians who have been elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

Fleming has been a UW Medical School faculty member since 1986. In addition to directing a National Institutes of Health-funded postdoctoral research fellowship in the department of family medicine, Fleming spearheaded the development of a research program focused on the prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug use disorders.

He has been the principal investigator on 11 NIH grants, was recently awarded two additional NIH grants, and published a number of seminal articles on primary care-based treatment of alcohol problems. He has recently done a study on alcohol biomarkers and is planning to expand his research interest in this area.

Fleming is also is the director of the pain consult service and the inpatient addiction medicine consult service at the UW Hospital and Clinics.

Fleming joins the Institute of Medicine as it marks its 35th anniversary. It was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences 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.

New IOM members are chosen from a slate of candidates nominated for their professional achievement, and voted on by current active members. At least one-quarter of new members must be selected from fields outside the health professions: social and behavioral sciences, law, engineering and the humanities.

Members make a commitment to involve themselves in the work of the institute, which conducts studies and other activities addressing a wide range of issues in medical science, health services, public health and health policy. Current IOM studies include a project to recommend appropriate nutritional standards for foods sold in schools; an evaluation of the nation’s system for ensuring the safety of prescription drugs after they have reached the market; and an assessment and recommendations for improving emergency health care in the United States.