Vivian W. Pinn, M.D., director of the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has been named the recipient of the annual Margaret E. Mahoney Award for Outstanding Service for her work in advancing the quality of health care for women everywhere. "Since her appointment in 1991, Dr. Pinn has led the Office of Research on Women's Health in achieving great strides towards improving the health of women." said Karen Davis, president of The Commonwealth Fund. "Through initiatives such as ensuring women's inclusion in medical research and supporting the advancement of women in biomedical careers, Dr. Pinn has realized a mandate to broaden and strengthen research and eliminate gaps in knowledge resulting from women's exclusion from many medical research studies." Before joining the NIH, Pinn was professor and chair of the Department of Pathology in the College of Medicine at Howard University. She received her medical degree in 1967 from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and is a graduate of Wellesley College, where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees. The award was presented by Dr. Edward N. Brandt, former assistant secretary of health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and senior program adviser to The Commonwealth Fund. Brandt established the Public Health Service task force on women's health issues in 1983, which lay the groundwork for the Office of Research on Women's Health. In presenting the award, he noted that Dr. Pinn's singular contributions have had a significant impact on the landscape of women's health policy and research. Established in 1994, the Margaret E. Mahoney award bears the name of a leader in the field of health care philanthropy, and recognizes an individual whose singular contributions have fostered the field of health policy and health services and contributed to a better understanding of the complex issues involved. The presentation took place at a dinner September 21 as part of the Margaret E. Mahoney Symposium on Quality Health Care for Women in the United States and the United Kingdom. The 2000 MEM symposium is being held in conjunction with the Second Annual Commonwealth Fund/Jacobs Institute Conference on Women's Health. Health care leaders from both the U.K. and U.S. are participating in the two-day event in Washington, D.C.
