Six Penn faculty members - the most from any institution nationwide - have been inducted into the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences.
The group, a non-governmental organization that advises the nation on health- and science-related matters, announced its 65 newest members earlier this week.
Membership is honorary, and new members are culled from hundreds of nominations. Induction into the group is considered one of the highest honors in medicine and scientific research.
The six inductees from Penn include Ralph Muller, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health Systems; Wharton and School of Medicine professor Sanford Schwartz; Jean Bennett, Gary Koretzky and Jonathan Epstein of the Medical School; and Linda McCauley of the Nursing School.
"We feel absolutely great. This is an enormous, positive thing for Penn," said Medical School Dean Arthur Rubenstein.
"It's very, very unusual to get [this many] staff from one place," he added.
Once inducted into the IOM, members join committees, where they conduct studies and analyses requested by a variety of outside sources, including Congress and private organizations.
The IOM emphasizes current issues facing the country, fulfilling requests ranging from health-care policies to the role doctors play in society, Koretzky said.
"This is a terrific honor, but it's also a responsibility," he said, adding that the six new members from Penn will "give the institution a voice for the future" as it advises the government on policy.
And with both presidential candidates proposing expanded health-care coverage, Muller predicted that the nonpartisan expert advice from the IOM will be helpful.
"Health-care policy reform is a big part of the national policy agenda right now. . I think [now is] a very ripe opportunity to be part of" the IOM, he added.
Though the high number of inductees is unusual, Rubenstein says it's a reflection of the quality of the Medical School.
"It's an outside, external endorsement of the hard work and effort and quality of people that work in an institution," he said.
