Two faculty members from the University of California, Berkeley have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the most prestigious honors in health and medicine. The academy announced their selection on Monday.
Daniel Fletcher, a professor of bioengineering at UC Berkeley, was recognized for his development of mobile phone-based microscopy used to diagnose infectious diseases in developing countries. His work also includes contributions to understanding biological self-assembly and mechanotransduction. Fletcher’s lab developed CellScope technology, which converts a smartphone or tablet camera into a light microscope. This innovation has enabled new approaches to diagnosing infectious diseases, detecting ear infections, and screening for diabetic retinopathy by combining mobile microscopy with automation and wireless communication.
Michael C. Lu, dean of UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, was honored for his research that changed perspectives on maternal and child health disparities. Lu introduced a life-course perspective on women’s health that shifted focus from solely prenatal care to considering the full range of experiences across a woman’s life that affect birth outcomes. According to the academy announcement: “Lu’s framework challenged the prevailing focus on prenatal care by demonstrating that birth outcomes reflect a woman’s entire life story — from early childhood experiences that shape stress response systems to cumulative adversity across adolescence and adulthood. His life-course perspective redefined the fields of obstetrics-gynecology and maternal and child health, inspiring new research agendas, clinical practices and policy directions.”
Lu previously served as director of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau under President Barack Obama. During his tenure, he managed programs reaching more than 60 million Americans each year and led initiatives resulting in notable reductions in early elective deliveries in southern states as well as declines in in-hospital maternal mortality nationwide. “As director of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau under President Barack Obama, Lu oversaw programs serving more than 60 million Americans annually, launching initiatives that contributed to a 22% reduction in early elective deliveries in the South and a 57% decline in in-hospital maternal mortality nationwide,” according to the announcement.
The National Academy of Medicine was established in 1970 (originally called the Institute of Medicine) with a mission to address important issues related to health, science, medicine, and policy while encouraging action across different sectors. The academy’s membership includes professionals from diverse fields beyond health professions such as law, engineering, social sciences, and humanities.
