WASHINGTON—ACCP member Samuel G. Johnson, Pharm.D., clinical pharmacy specialist at Kaiser Permanente Colorado in Denver, has been selected as the 2012–2014 Institute of Medicine (IOM) Anniversary Fellow in Pharmacy.

ACCP and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) have each committed organizational support to the IOM to create a permanent 2-year pharmacy fellowship, the first pharmacy fellowship in IOM’s history. “We are pleased to provide this grant, which will enable early career health scientists in the field of pharmacy to gain valuable experience in shaping policies that improve the nation’s health,” said J. Lyle Bootman, Ph.D., AACP President and Dean of the College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson. IOM President Harvey V. Fineberg stated:

This exceptional learning environment will engage these scholars with the most eminent researchers, policy experts, and clinicians from across the country as they work together to provide nonpartisan, scientific, and evidence-based guidance to policy-makers, academic leaders, health care leaders, and the public.

Each fellow will be assigned to a board of the IOM while continuing his or her primary practice or academic post. Applicants are evaluated according to their professional qualifications; reputation as scholars; quality of professional accomplishments, as evidenced through publications and research grants; and relevance of current field expertise to the work of the IOM. Preference is given to candidates who have a demonstrated interest in and focus on advancing pharmacy practice and scholarship.

“It’s an honor to serve as one of the sponsoring organizations of this inaugural IOM pharmacy fellowship and to be able to participate in Samuel Johnson’s selection as the 2012–2014 fellow,” said ACCP President Lawrence J. Cohen. “He is a talented and skilled clinical pharmacist with a genuine passion for population health and health care services. I consider serving as a member of the selection committee one of the highlights of my presidential year.”

Established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the IOM provides objective, evidence-based advice to policy-makers, health professionals, the private sector, and the public. The IOM, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Research Council together make up the independent, nonprofit National Academies. For more information, visit http://national-academies.org or http://iom.edu.