A biologist and a family practitioner at the University of California, Davis, are among 50 new members elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the institute announced this week. M.R.C. Greenwood, a professor of nutrition and internal medicine and the dean of graduate studies, and Dr. Joseph E. Scherger, a clinical professor of family practice in the UC Davis School of Medicine, were chosen on the basis of their professional achievements and their involvement with critical issues affecting public health. As lifelong members of the Institute of Medicine, they will volunteer their time to serve on advisory committees that formulate recommendations related to public policy in health. The Institute of Medicine, chartered in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, enlists distinguished members of medical and related professions to examine public health issues. There are now 474 active members in the institute, 476 senior members who have fewer responsibilities and 29 foreign associates. A physiologist and nutrition scientist, Greenwood is internationally known for her work on the regulation of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase and for her research on the genetic basis of obesity and diabetes. She also has research and teaching interests in the areas of women's health and in gender and ethnic differences in disease outcomes. In commenting on her election, she noted: "This honor is as much a reflection of the inspiration of my early mentors and the hard work of my students and colleagues as it is a personal recognition, and I am very pleased." Before coming to UC Davis in 1989 as dean of graduate studies, Greenwood was chair of biology, director of the Undergraduate Research Summer Institute and director of the Howard Hughes Biological Sciences Network Program at Vassar College. She was also director of the National Institutes of Health Animal Model CORE Laboratory of the Obesity Research Center. Prior to that, she was a faculty member and director of the doctoral program at the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University. She has long been active in the development of nutrition and education policy, serving on numerous national advisory committees. She is currently serving as chair of the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences, charged with directing that group's study of specific national health and nutrition issues. She is the past president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity and is currently treasurer of the International Association for the Study of Obesity. Greenwood received her doctoral degree in physiology, developmental biology and neurosciences in 1973 from The Rockefeller University. She received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Mount St. Mary College in Newburg, New York, in 1989 and was presented the American Institute of Nutrition Award in Experimental Nutrition in 1982. She received the National Institutes of Health Research Career Development Award for 1978-83 and numerous other research grants and honors. Scherger, who directs the UC Davis Department of Family Practice's pre-doctoral program, is also a private physician in the towns of Davis and Dixon. In 1989 he was named the "Family Doctor of the Year" by the American Academy of Family Physicians, becoming the first Californian and the youngest physician ever to receive that award. Scherger has taken an active role in encouraging family physicians to become involved in obstetrical care. He also helped form the statewide Family Practice Liability Project, aimed at reducing liability insurance premiums for family physicians by promoting high standards of care and risk management. In 1988 he was one of 43 professionals nationwide to receive the prestigious W.K. Kellogg Foundation National Fellowship, a leadership program that addresses such topics as global economics, food shortages and health problems in developing countries. He also was named Outstanding Clinical Instructor by the UC Davis School of Medicine graduating classes of 1984 and 1989. He has been active in the American Academy of Family Physicians and the California Academy of Family Physicians. He is a past president of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. Scherger received his medical degree in 1975 from the UCLA School of Medicine and completed his internship and residency in family practice at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he also received his master's degree in public health.