Caption: From left- Terence S. Dermody, Kate Rubins and John C. Byrd
The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is proud to announce the election of three faculty members to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), among the highest honors in health and medicine. They are Terence S. Dermody, the Vira I. Heinz Distinguished Professor and chair of pediatrics, and professor of microbiology and molecular genetics; John C. Byrd, the incoming director of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center; and Kate Rubins, who will be joining the University this month as a professor of computational and systems biology.
NAM elected 90 regular members and 10 international members during its annual meeting on Oct. 20, 2025. The newly elected members bring NAM’s total membership to more than 2,500, which includes more than 200 international members.
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. Originally established as the Institute of Medicine in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine operates alongside the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. Together, they provide independent, objective analysis and advice to inform public policy decisions and address complex issues in health, science and medicine.
NAM's mission is to address critical issues in health, medicine and related fields, inspiring cross-sector collaboration and positive action. Its members are among the most accomplished professionals in their respective fields, and they commit to volunteer their expertise to support NAM’s initiatives.
Dermody is physician-in-chief and scientific director at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. He studies how RNA viruses replicate and cause disease. Most of his research focuses on reovirus, an important experimental model for studies of viral encephalitis in the young. His scientific contributions have enhanced an understanding of how these viruses enter the host, disseminate systemically and target specific cells in the nervous system. His research team has also discovered a link between reovirus and celiac disease.
According to NAM, he was selected “for being an internationally recognized physician-scientist, field-leading virologist, award-winning educator and mentor, and academic leader. He has made transformative discoveries in viral replication and pathogenesis, developed innovative programs for physician-scientist education, and spearheaded the community-engaged Pittsburgh Study to foster the well-being of children.”
Byrd will join UPMC Hillman, one of the nation’s premier National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, effective Nov. 3, 2025.
He will also serve as Pitt’s associate vice chancellor for cancer affairs and be recommended for appointment as the Hillman Professor of Oncology in the School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine.
He comes to Pitt from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where he was the Gordon and Helen Hughes Taylor Professor and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. His research has focused on the biology and treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia.
NAM said he was chosen for his work in “effectively demonstrating non-oncogene addiction as an effective cancer strategy through the preclinical and clinical development of Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors ibrutinib and acalabrutinib that changed chronic lymphocytic leukemia from a fatal disease to one that now has a natural life expectancy.”
Rubins, a microbiologist and former NASA astronaut, has led transformative research across the fields of genomics, infectious disease and human spaceflight. At Stanford University School of Medicine, she developed the first smallpox animal model and genomic tools to study host responses to viral infection. At the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, she directed a laboratory that mapped the poxvirus transcriptome and conducted fieldwork on mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
At NASA, she completed two long-duration missions totaling 300 days aboard the International Space Station, contributing to numerous scientific experiments, including the first long-duration cell culture in space and 3D tissue studies examining cellular adaptation to microgravity.
She was selected “for leading the development of modern molecular and cellular biology methods for use in low-Earth orbit and low-resource environments, including the first successful DNA sequencing in space. Previously, she pioneered methods for studying viral diseases in Africa, including mpox and Ebola.”
They join 18 other University of Pittsburgh faculty members who have been elected to NAM.