Three UC Davis faculty members received top national honors recently for the significance of their research contributions to science and health. George Bruening, a professor of plant pathology, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, while M.R.C. Greenwood, a professor of nutrition and dean of graduate studies, and Dr. Joseph Scherger, a clinical professor of family practice in the UC Davis School of Medicine, were both elected to the Institute of Medicine of the NAS. Election to these organizations is the highest honor awarded to scientists and health professionals in the United States. The newly elected members will volunteer their time to serve on advisory committees that assist the federal government in developing scientific priorities and health policies. Bruening is an internationally recognized molecular virologist, known for his pioneering biochemical and genetic research on how plants resist viral diseases. Greenwood is known internationally for her work on the enzyme lipoprotein lipase and her research on the genetic causes of obesity. Scherger is active as a private physician and as director of the UC Davis family practice department's pre-doctoral program. In 1989 he was named the "Family Doctor of the Year" by the American Academy of Family Physicians.