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By Lookout Staff

October 28 -- School Board member Dr. Jose Escarce has been elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, which is considered one of the highest honors in the field of health and medicine.

Escarce, along with William Vega, a colleague at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, was among 65 new members who were honored for their outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

As a member of the institute, Escarce, who is also a senior natural scientist at RAND, will volunteer on committees that study a broad range of health policy issues.

"This is a great honor for UCLA," said Dr. Gerald S. Levey, vice chancellor for medical sciences and dean of the Geffen School of Medicine.

"The election of Drs. Escarce and Vega to the Institute of Medicine highlights UCLA's continuing commitment to advancing the medical sciences and health care, including improving access to health care for the medically underserved,” Levey said. “That's one of the things that make them so special."

Escarce, who is seeking a third term on the School Board November 4, has published extensively on a variety of topics, including physician behavior, medical technology adoption, racial and socioeconomic differences in health care and the effects of market forces on access, costs and quality of care.

He currently serves on the Institute of Medicine's Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice and its Roundtable on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health; is a member of AcademyHealth's Methods Council;,and sits on the Congressional Budget Office's Panel of Health Advisors.

Escarce, M.D., Ph.D., is co-editor-in-chief of the journal Health Services Research, one of the leading scholarly publications in its field, and serves on the board of directors of AcademyHealth.

With its newly elected members, the Institute of Medicine has a total membership of 1,736, including 1,576 active members, 89 foreign associates and 71 members holding emeritus status.

Escarce graduated from Princeton University, received a master's degree from Harvard University, and earned a medical degree and a doctorate in health economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his medical residency at Stanford University.

Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, the institute has become recognized as a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on human health issues.