Professor elected to prominent health institute

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Dr. McElwain
Dr. Terry F. McElwain

A veterinarian noted for his work with infectious diseases has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine.

Dr. Terry F. McElwain is a professor of pathology and infectious diseases in Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. McElwain holds a number of other titles, including executive director of the Washington Animal Disease Laboratory, which is a founding member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network and Laboratory Response Network for Bioterrorism. He also directs WSU's Animal Health Research Center and is a member of the board of directors of the World Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians.

More recently, Dr. McElwain served as a member of IOM's expert committee to provide consensus advice on the challenge of achieving sustainable global capacity for surveillance and response to emerging diseases.

"Terry McElwain's election to the National Academies is a richly deserved acknowledgement of his innovative scientific leadership in disease surveillance and public health," said WSU President Elson S. Floyd. "His considerable work and expertise stand very much at the heart of our recent successes in the establishment of a new School for Global Animal Health here at WSU. It is altogether fitting that he should be recognized as he has (been) today, with one of the highest honors that can be afforded a scientist."

Dr. McElwain is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists and a 1980 graduate of Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

The IOM is both an advisory organization and an honorific membership organization with more than 1,700 members and foreign associates who donate their time to work for the nation's health.

Each year, the full membership elects up to 65 new members and five foreign associates to the IOM. Members are elected for their excellence and professional achievement in a field relevant to the IOM's mission and for their willingness to participate actively in its work. Only 16 veterinarians are counted among the institute's ranks, including Dr. McElwain's colleague at WSU, Dr. Guy Palmer.