Expert on Health Inequities Elected to National Academy of Medicine

Ruth Enid Zambrana Becomes Record 62nd UMD Faculty Member in National Academies

A University of Maryland researcher whose scholarship has transformed our understanding of how social determinants of health influence outcomes for minority women and population health was elected Monday, Oct. 17 to the National Academy of Medicine.

Medical sociologist Ruth Enid Zambrana, a Distinguished University Professor in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies who is also affiliated with the African American Studies Department and the Department of Sociology, joins 90 new members and 10 international members elected to the elite organization in recognition of their outstanding achievement and volunteer service related to medicine and health. She is the only person from UMD, which has no medical school, in this academy, and she brings the number of UMD faculty in the national academies to 62, a record high.

“It’s very emotional and very gratifying to receive this distinction,” Zambrana said. “It’s been a hard road to go against the grain of scientific thinking—to break down biases. This acknowledgment affirms a long-standing struggle for justice and equity.”

Main photo by Madison Wells-James ’23

Published on Tue, Oct 18, 2022 - 10:54AM