News Summary

• School of Public Health nutrition expert Mary Story, Ph.D., R.D., was elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine.
• Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

Quotes

“My academic career has been devoted to improving the nutritional health of children and adolescents and it is an honor to be elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine,” Story said.

“Story’s knowledge, research and findings in childhood nutrition and obesity prevention are truly one-of-a-kind. We’re honored to have her as a member of the School of Public Health and there is no question that she deserves this recognition. Her expertise will serve the institute well,” said John Finnegan, Ph.D., dean of the School of Public Health.

Full Text

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (October 11, 2010) — School of Public Health nutrition expert Mary Story, Ph.D., R.D., was elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM) today.

Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

“My academic career has been devoted to improving the nutritional health of children and adolescents and it is an honor to be elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine,” Story said.

New members are elected by current active members through a highly selective process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health. The Institute of Medicine is unique in its structure as both an honorific membership organization and an advisory organization.

In addition to being a professor in the School of Public Health’s Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, Story is associate Dean for Student Life and Leadership and an adjunct professor in the Department of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Story’s expertise is in child and adolescent nutrition, and childhood obesity prevention. She is Director of the National Program Office for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Healthy Eating Research, an initiative that supports research on environmental and policy strategies to promote healthy eating among children to prevent childhood obesity.

She has conducted numerous school and community-based obesity prevention studies, several of them have focused on low-income communities and minority populations.

“Story’s knowledge, research and findings in childhood nutrition and obesity prevention are truly one-of-a-kind,” said John Finnegan, Ph.D., dean of the School of Public Health. “We’re honored to have her as a member of the School of Public Health and there is no question that she deserves this recognition. Her expertise will serve the institute well.”

Sixty-five other professionals were selected to be in the IOM today. The new members raise the Institute's total active membership to 1,649 and the number of foreign associates to 96. With an additional 72 members holding emeritus status, IOM's total membership is 1,817.