The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) today announced the appointment of four new members to its Advisory Council. The Council serves as the principal advisory body to NIBIB, a component of the National Institutes of Health within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Council, which meets three times a year, provides recommendations on the conduct and support of biomedical imaging and bioengineering research and research training.

The new Advisory Council members are:

Rebecca Mary Bergman, B.S., is Vice President of Science and Technology at Medtronic, Inc. Ms. Bergman holds a B.S. degree in chemistry from Princeton University, and has completed graduate studies in chemical engineering and materials science at the University of Minnesota. She has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota where she has taught courses in biomedical engineering. Since joining Medtronic, Ms. Bergman has been a leader in the advancement of biologically oriented sciences in the company. She oversees Medtronic’s Materials and Biosciences Center, the Technical Knowledge Center, innovation programs and other corporate technology initiatives. Previously, Ms. Bergman held scientific and research and development management positions of increasing responsibility within Medtronic. She has received several of the company’s highest honors, including membership in the Bakken Society, an honorary society for Medtronic’s most distinguished scientific and technical contributors.

Richard Lorne Ehman, M.D., is a member of the Mayo Clinic Board of Governors and is Professor of Radiology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Dr. Ehman has a medical degree from the University of Saskatchewan, and did fellowships at the University of California, San Francisco, and at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Ehman, who holds more than 20 patents, is known for a number of MRI inventions which have made dramatic improvements in the technology and have become technique mainstays adopted throughout the industry. This includes methods for eliminating flow and motion related image artifact, synchronizing the scan to an individual person’s respiration pattern, and measurement of the mechanical properties of tissue. Dr. Ehman’s current research is on nuclear magnetic resonance phenomena, including investigation of new methods for high resolution magnetic resonance imaging of moving structures, techniques of ultrafast MR imaging, and methods for noninvasive assessment of the vascular system. Dr. Ehman was awarded the Gold Medal of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) in 1995 for his research contributions and was elected President of the society in 2002. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and the American College of Radiology. He served as a member of the Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Study Section of the NIH from 1995-99 and returned to serve as Chair of that study section from 2002-2004.

Katherine Whittaker Ferrara, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis. Following B.S. and M.S. degrees from California State University, Sacramento, Dr. Ferrara received her Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Ferrara was a principal member of the research staff at the Riverside Research Institute, New York, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Cornell University Medical School. In addition, she was an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Dr. Ferrara is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectronics and Frequency Control. She has conducted research and written extensively on medical imaging and biomedical signal processing, particularly in the areas of ultrasonics and acoustics.

David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., former Surgeon General of the United States and Assistant Secretary for Health at DHHS, is currently Director of the Center of Excellence on Health Disparities and the Poussaint-Satcher-Cosby Chair in Mental Health at Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Satcher received his M.D. and Ph.D. (cytogenetics) from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Satcher was Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in Atlanta, Georgia from 1993 to 1998. Following the end of his term as Surgeon General, he became a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, DC. Prior to joining DHHS, he was President of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Satcher is a former Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar and Macy Faculty Fellow. He is the recipient of many honorary degrees and numerous distinguished honors, including top awards from the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians.

Members of the Advisory Council are drawn from the scientific communities, are appointed for 4-year terms, and represent all areas within the Institute’s research mission.

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is dedicated to improving human health through the integration of the physical and biological sciences. The research agenda of the NIBIB seeks to dramatically advance the Nation’s health by improving the detection, management, understanding, and ultimately, the prevention of disease. Additional information and publications are available at http://www.nibib.nih.gov/.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.