Epidemiologist Appointed to Board of National Research Agency

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Germaine Buck, Ph.D., of Buffalo, associate professor of social and preventive medicine at the University at Buffalo, has been appointed to a three-year term on the board of the Institute of Medicine's Medical Follow-up Agency, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

The agency conducts epidemiologic research on the health status of veterans. It was begun shortly after World War II to conduct follow-up studies based on the wartime experience. Studies now are based on records from the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The agency's board is composed of 14 physicians and researchers from universities and research centers across the country.

Buck has won national recognition for her epidemiologic research in human reproduction and fetal and early-childhood health. In 1995, she was appointed to a three-year term on the National Research Council Committee on Toxicology, which provides expert advice to government agencies on toxicologic issues and problems.

A prolific researcher, she holds a prestigious three-year fellowship from the Merck Company Foundation and the Society for Epidemiology Research to conduct a long-term study of the safety and effectiveness of tubal ligation.

Buck is a registered nurse and holds master's and doctoral degrees in epidemiology from UB. She is a member of the American College of Epidemiology, Society for Epidemiologic Research and the Society for Pediatric Epidemiologic Research, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. She publishes frequently in professional journals.