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Faculty from Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College Elected and Inducted into National Academy of Medicine

Dr. Christine Laine

OCTOBER 21, 2024 (PHILADELPHIA) — Christine Laine MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Internal Medicine of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University; attending physician, Department of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital; Editor-in-Chief, Annals of Internal Medicine and Senior Vice President, American College of Physicians, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. Additionally, Said Ibrahim, MD, MBA, MPH, Anthony F. and Gertrude M. DePalma Dean of Thomas Jefferson University’s esteemed Sidney Kimmel Medical College and president of Jefferson University Physicians (JUP), was inducted at the Academy’s annual meeting on Saturday, October 19, 2024.

Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

“I am delighted that Dr. Laine and Dr. Ibrahim have been honored by the National Academy of Medicine,” said Thomas Jefferson University President Susan C. Aldridge, PhD. “Their leadership and pioneering spirits, combined with unwavering advocacy for those they serve, distinguish them in the field. They are truly deserving of this recognition.” 

Dr. Laine was elected for, “expanding the influence of the Annals of Internal Medicine and the American College of Physicians by addressing issues such as firearms and gun violence, reproducible research, misinformation, reproductive health, equitable health care, and scientific misconduct,” while Dr. Ibrahim was elected in 2023 for, “his seminal health services research on racial disparities in elective joint replacement that has provided a national model for advancing health equity research beyond the identification of inequities and toward their remediation, and for his research that has been leveraged to engage diverse and innovative emerging scholars,” according to The Academy. 

Dr. Laine is the sixth faculty member in Jefferson’s history to be elected, most recently joining Dr. Julia Haller and Dr. Ibrahim.

“Dr. Laine has educated and cared for countless students, residents, and patients during her time as a physician-educator at Jefferson,” said Dr. Ibrahim, who was officially inducted during the annual meeting. “Students enrolled in Jefferson’s MD/PhD program have a unique opportunity to learn from Dr. Laine as she oversees the JeffMD curriculum’s optional Critical Review of the Scientific Literature Rotation.”

Dr. Laine received her Bachelor of Arts in Writing and Biology at Hamilton College, her medical degree at State University of New York at Stony Brook and her Master of Public Health at Harvard University. She joined Thomas Jefferson University’s faculty in 1992 and she was named the youngest and first solo-female Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2009.

“I am honored to be elected to the Academy and look forward to continuing to educate our students, residents on not only clinical care but also evidence-based medicine, patient advocacy, equity, and integrity,” said Dr. Laine.

Dr. Said Ibrahim

Dr. Ibrahim received his Bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and his Medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He also holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from Harvard University’s School of Public Health and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Dr. Ibrahim completed his internship and residency training in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.

In his over twenty years of providing care to Veterans, Dr. Ibrahim learned the importance of access to care, especially access to cutting-edge treatments such as knee and hip replacement surgery.  For more than 25 years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded Dr. Ibrahim’s research has focused on variations in access to needed treatments among patients with knee/hip osteoarthrosis. As the director of the Philadelphia VA National Center of Innovation for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP), Dr. Ibrahim mentored many students and young faculty to pursue research that advances health equity in different healthcare dimensions and diagnoses.

“I am thrilled to have been formally inducted into the Academy,” said Dr. Ibrahim. “My vision is to continue to bridge the partnership between clinical leadership and academic programs and to shape medical education at Jefferson, where our students will go on to shape patient care around the country and the world.”