Prestigious independent organization provides advice on national health and science policy
October 21, 2013 (BOSTON) – Diana W. Bianchi, MD, founding Executive Director of the Mother Infant Research Institute (MIRI) at Tufts Medical Center; Vice Chair for Pediatric Research at Floating Hospital for Children; Natalie V. Zucker Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM); and a member of the genetics program faculty at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts, was named to the highly-exclusive Institute of Medicine (IOM) at the organization’s 43rd annual meeting today.
A branch of the National Academies, the IOM was founded in 1970 as a non-affiliated, non-profit organization, both to honor high achievers in the fields of health care and medicine and to provide impartial analysis, counseling and recommendations on health- and science-related issues to national policymakers and the general public. Current members elect a class of new members at the IOM’s annual meeting every year; Bianchi is one of 70 new members elected to the IOM in 2013. All IOM members commit to donating their time and expertise to boards, committees and other IOM advisory bodies.
“It is a tremendous honor to be recognized alongside so many exceptional clinicians and scientists,” said Bianchi. “Medicine and technology are rapidly evolving. I look forward to working with my fellow IOM members to improve pediatric and obstetric clinical care, while simultaneously addressing the multiple challenges associated with health care reform.”
Bianchi’s translational research is focused on prenatal genomics, with the goal of advancing noninvasive prenatal DNA diagnosis and using the fetal transcriptome to develop new fetal therapies. A practicing medical geneticist with special expertise in reproductive genetics, Bianchi has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles and is one of four authors of the book Fetology: Diagnosis and Management of the Fetal Patient, which won the Association of American Publishers award for best textbook in clinical medicine in 2000.
“Election to the IOM is one of the premier distinctions in all of health care and medicine,” said Michael Wagner, MD, FACP, Interim President and CEO of Tufts Medical Center. “Dr. Bianchi has shown outstanding leadership throughout her career. She is a research pioneer in her field, a compassionate clinician and a dedicated teacher to her students and trainees. We are all very proud to call Dr. Bianchi a colleague and friend and to congratulate her on this well-deserved acknowledgment of an impressive body of work."
Recognized locally, nationally and internationally for her leadership roles, Bianchi serves as Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Prenatal Diagnosis, is a member of the National Advisory Council of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and is a Past President of both the International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis and the Perinatal Research Society. She also has received a variety of awards, including the Duane Alexander Award for leadership and mentorship in perinatal medicine from NICHD, and the Christopher Columbus Spirit of Discovery Award and the Distinguished Faculty Award, both from Tufts University. Most recently, Bianchi received the NIH Senior Investigator Award for the International Federation of Placenta Associations.
“Tufts University is deeply proud that one of its own has been named to the Institute of Medicine, an esteemed national organization that provides evidence-based information that promotes the health of the public,” said Harris A. Berman, MD, Dean of Tufts University School of Medicine. “Dr. Bianchi is a true leader in the field of pediatrics and will make meaningful contributions to the Institute of Medicine’s important work to address the country’s most pressing health care concerns.”
Bianchi received her medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine and completed her postgraduate training at Boston Children’s Hospital and her postdoctoral fellowship training at Harvard University. She is board-certified in Pediatrics, Medical Genetics and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine.
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About Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children
Tufts Medical Center is an exceptional, not-for-profit, 415-bed academic medical center that is home to both a full-service hospital for adults and Floating Hospital for Children. Conveniently located in downtown Boston, the Medical Center is the principal teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine. Floating Hospital for Children is the full-service children's hospital of Tufts Medical Center and the principal pediatric teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine. For more information, please visit www.tuftsmedicalcenter.org.
About Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences
Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University are international leaders in innovative medical and population health education and advanced research. Tufts University School of Medicine emphasizes rigorous fundamentals in a dynamic learning environment to educate physicians, scientists, and public health professionals to become leaders in their fields. The School of Medicine and the Sackler School are renowned for excellence in education in general medicine, the biomedical sciences, and public health, as well as for innovative research at the cellular, molecular, and population health level. Ranked among the top in the nation, the School of Medicine is affiliated with six major teaching hospitals and more than 30 health care facilities. Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School undertake research that is consistently rated among the highest in the nation for its effect on the advancement of medical and prevention science.
A note regarding the above references to the Sackler School: In December 2019, Tufts University announced that it would remove the Sackler name from all programs and facilities—including the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences. At that time, the school was renamed the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
