The dean of the College of Pharmacy is the first woman at UF to be elected into the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
Julie Johnson was one of 70 people elected into the honorary and advisory organization during its 44th annual meeting in Washington, D.C. on Monday.
“It’s really a huge honor,” she said.
Only eight other faculty at UF have been elected to the institute, including the university’s seventh president, Dr. Robert Marston. Marston was elected in 1973.
All of those elected were men. Members are elected based on their professional achievements, research and skills that would contribute to the institute’s goals, Jennifer Walsh, senior media officer for the institute, wrote in an email.
Johnson was also the first female to be appointed dean of the College of Pharmacy.
Paul Doering, emeritus distinguished service professor of pharmacotherapy and translational research, served under four different deans and said Johnson fully deserves the recognition.
“When I look at Julie Johnson, I don’t see maleness or femaleness,” he said. “I just see an exemplary researcher who has earned every bit of respect she’s got.”
Johnson first joined the college in 1998 and was named dean in August 2013.
Her research focuses on how patients vary in their response to drugs, particularly in the cardiovascular realm.
“She’s absolutely riding a crest right now when it comes to the hottest areas of pharmaceutical research,” Doering said.
Reginald Frye collaborated with Johnson on her research.
“She’s made major contributions in the field of cardiovascular pharmacogenomics and in particular really, implementation of personalized medicine,” said Frye, UF professor and chair of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research.
About 2,000 members participate and contribute to the institute’s research and policy evaluations, Walsh said.
Last year, the institute completed a study meant to determine what was known on how to reduce sports-related concussions in young athletes.
Another study focused on analyzing the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in military and veteran populations.
Johnson said there aren’t many other pharmaceutical professionals in the institute.
Her time with the institute will not interfere with her position as dean, she said.
“It’s something that, within the health sciences and health professions, is really just this major recognition of scientific and leadership accomplishments,” she said.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 10/22/2014]
