MOSCOW, Idaho (KIFI) — A researcher at the University of Idaho, an internationally acclaimed researcher in maternal and infant nutrition, has become the university’s first inductee to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine.
Michelle (Sherry) McGuire, director of the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences and professor at the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, was nominated by her colleagues at Yale and the University of Illinois. she’s human milk
According to organization records, McGuire is the first faculty member to be appointed to the Academy while employed by the Idaho institution.
Over the years, McGuire and colleagues have collected breast milk samples from nine countries and analyzed their complex composition. She found that the composition of breast milk varies greatly depending on where the mother lives, and believes that these differences likely prepare the baby to grow in a particular environment.COVID-19 Early in the pandemic, the findings of McGuire’s team (co-led by Mark McGuire and Janet Williams of U of I and Courtney Meehan of Washington State University) raised concerns that the coronavirus could be spread through breastfeeding. provided important guidance to mothers who McGuire’s team found that breast milk supplies antibodies to the infant instead.
As a new member of the Academy, McGuire will help inform national health policy and provide guidance on human health research priorities. She will also assist in the selection of future Academy members and will be given priority permission to participate in committees of experts commissioned by the Academy to draft reports on pressing scientific issues.
“In the United States, this is the highest recognition a scientist can get,” McGuire said.
The National Academy of Medicine is a private, non-profit organization with more than 2,400 members worldwide who are elected by their peers. It is he one of his three academies comprising the National Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Engineering and the Academy of Medicine.
“Her presence in the academy shows what a great scientist she is, and that there are great scientists at the university and in Idaho,” said U of I’s vice president for research and economic development. Christopher Nomura said. “Reputation indicates that she has one of the top biomedical schools on the planet here at the University of Idaho. Her work literally has a global impact.”
McGuire’s appointment will help attract top faculty, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students to U of I, Nomura said.
The National Academy of Medicine formally announced the 100 members of its 2022 class at its annual meeting Monday. The National Academy will host an induction ceremony in the fall of 2023 to honor his 2022 inductees. McGuire’s membership began immediately.
