When Claire Brindis was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) in 2011, it was one of the most thrilling moments of her academic career.

 “To be elected to this very august group was extremely meaningful in terms of the recognition of my scientific contributions,” said Brindis. “But it was also a humbling moment. While I was awed by the others in my cohort, who represented such a diverse set of disciplines, I was also touched to see how many of my colleagues also felt the same level of humbleness. Being acknowledged is affirming, but there was also a shared feeling that so much more needs to be done in continuing to build scientific evidence.”

Brindis was contributing well before she was elected to membership, serving on a number of study committees that examined a variety of issues. That service also inspired her to donate generously to the NAM over the years. “It’s a return on investment issue for me,” she explained.

“My gifts express the confidence that I feel about the organization in making wise choices about how to bring evidence and science to the public – which is also a personal agenda that I have. It’s so important to be able to bring the science together, objectively review it, and synthesize that information in ways that are approachable for stakeholders who have to make difficult resource allocations. ...The Academies’ commitment and dedication to this core value of bringing science to public policy is something to which we can all contribute.”