Nancy Nielsen, AMA President, UB Medical Education Dean, to Inaugurate O.P. Jones Lecture

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Nancy H. Nielsen, Ph.D., M.D., president of the American Medical Association and senior associate dean for medical education at the University at Buffalo's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, will present the inaugural Oliver P. "O.P." Jones, M.D., '56, Endowed Lectureship in Medical Education Sept. 19 in the Adam's Mark Hotel, 120 Church Street in downtown Buffalo.

Nielsen's topic at the 4:30 p.m. lecture will be "The Future of Medicine." The lecture is free and open to the public.

Following the lecture, Nielsen will receive a second honor -- the 2008 UB Distinguished Medical Alumnus Award -- at a dinner in her honor beginning at 6:30 p.m. in The Buffalo Club, 388 Delaware Ave., Buffalo.

Nielsen holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from The Catholic University of America and an M.D. degree from UB. She was elected president of the AMA in June 2008, after serving four terms as speaker of the AMA House of Delegates and three terms as vice speaker.

She served two terms on the AMA Council on Scientific Affairs helping to formulate policy positions for the AMA on alcoholism among women, Alzheimer's disease, priorities in clinical preventive services, colorectal screening, asthma control, nicotine content of cigarettes, safety in dispensing prescriptions and on the diagnosis and treatment of depression.

Additionally, she served on the National Patient Safety Foundation board of directors, the Commission for the Prevention of Youth Violence, the Task Force on Quality and Patient Safety and as the AMA representative on the National Quality Forum, the AMA-convened Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement® and the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance.

Nielsen currently is a member of the Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Evidence Based Medicine and on the Consumer Empowerment Committee of America's Health Information Community.

She has long been active in medical organizations at the state and local level. She was speaker of the Medical Society of the State of New York House of Delegates and a member of the board directors of the Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company -- one of the largest malpractice carriers in the country. She also has served as president of the Medical Society of the County of Erie and as president of Buffalo General Hospital's medical/dental staff.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. The School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is one of the five schools comprising UB's Academic Health Center. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.