National Academy of Medicine Elects New Members From Yale

Three Yale School of Medicine faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). The academy chose 90 regular members and 10 international members at its annual meeting, and announced the new members this morning. Election to NAM recognizes “individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.”

The new additions bring the number of living NAM members now affiliated with Yale to 60. Nancy J. Brown, MD, Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of Yale School of Medicine, highlighted the contributions of the new members. “These three new members have advanced knowledge and human health, from adding to our understanding or ribosome biogenesis to addressing the impact of substance use disorders and incarceration. They join their predecessors and peers in advancing the mission of Yale School of Medicine.”

Those newly elected from Yale are:

Susan J. Baserga, MD, PhD, is William H. Fleming, MD, Professor of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry and professor of genetics and of therapeutic radiology, and a member of Yale Cancer Center. Her laboratory has pioneered the molecular basis of how ribosomes are made in our cells and is now pursuing the mechanistic basis of inherited human diseases called ribosomopathies. Her studies probe the link between ribosome biogenesis and cancer. She has previously won the Charles W. Bohmfalk Prize for basic science teaching at the Yale School of Medicine (2014), the William C. Rose Award from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) for outstanding contributions to scientific research and a demonstrated commitment to the training of young scientists (2016), and the Connecticut Technology Council Women of Innovation Category Winner in Research Innovation and Leadership (2018), and was elected to the National Academy of Inventors (2018). She was elected an ASBMB fellow in 2023. Baserga is a summa cum laude graduate of Yale College who subsequently earned her MD (cum laude), and PhD (in human genetics) at Yale. After a post-doctoral fellowship in the lab of Joan A. Steitz, PhD, Baserga joined the Yale faculty as an assistant professor in 1993.

Gail D’Onofrio, MD, MS, is Albert E. Kent Professor of Emergency Medicine and professor of medicine and of public health. With extensive experience as a researcher, mentor, and educator, D’Onofrio is known for her work in substance use disorders. As a physician-scientist she has had continual NIH funding for over two decades. Her work demonstrating that emergency department-initiated buprenorphine increases engagement in addiction treatment for individuals with opioid use disorder has changed clinical practice. D’Onofrio is a principal investigator of the New England Consortium Node for the NIDA Clinical Trials Network and of a NIDA-funded K12 training program. Honors she has earned include the 2022 American College of Emergency Physicians’ (ACEP) Innovation & Excellence in Behavioral Health & Addiction Medicine Award, a Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine, a National Institutes of Health HEAL Initiative Director’s Award, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University, where she received her MS and MD degrees.

Emily Ai-hua Wang, MD, MAS, is professor of medicine (general medicine) and of public health (social & behavioral sciences). She directs the SEICHE Center for Health and Justice, which works to identify the legal, policy, and practice levers that can improve the health of individuals and communities impacted by mass incarceration. She leads the center's research program, the NIH-funded Health Justice Lab, to investigate how incarceration influences chronic health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and opioid use disorder, and uses a participatory approach to study interventions that mitigate the impacts of incarceration. As an internist, she has cared for individuals with a history of incarceration and co-founded the Transitions Clinic Network, a consortium of community health centers nationwide dedicated to caring for individuals recently released from correctional facilities by employing community health workers with histories of incarceration. Her honors include induction into the American Society of Clinical Investigation (2021) and the MacArthur Fellowship (2022). Wang received her AB at Harvard University, her MD at Duke University, and her MAS at the University of California, San Francisco.

In a message celebrating all of this year’s new NAM members, the academy’s president, Victor J. Dzau, MD, wrote, “Their contributions to health and medicine are unparalleled, and their leadership and expertise will be essential to helping the NAM tackle today’s urgent health challenges, inform the future of health care, and ensure health equity for the benefit of all around the globe.”