UNC professor elected to National Academy of Medicine

A week after UNC School of Medicine professor Giselle Corbie-Smith was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, she is still in disbelief.

“I’m still pinching myself,” she said.

Recognized as one of the most prestigious honors in the field of health and medicine, election to the National Academy of Medicine is given to individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary professional achievement and commitment to service.

Corbie-Smith was among 75 regular members and 10 international members elected to the National Academy of Medicine during their annual meeting last week.

Her nationally recognized research centers around helping underserved communities achieve equity in health services, which she said helps fill the need for this type of work in communities across the state.

“As I looked across rural communities in North Carolina and especially ethnic minority communities in North Carolina, there seems to be a deep need for work in those areas,” she said. 

In addition to teaching at the UNC School of Medicine, Corbie-Smith is also the director of the UNC Center for Health Equity Research, an organization funded by the UNC School of Medicine and the University’s Department of Social Medicine. 

The center brings together multidisciplinary teams of scholars and community members to conduct research and advance research methods in an effort to improve health in underserved communities.

For Corbie-Smith, this honor is evidence that her research is making a positive impact. 

“It’s not only a validation but recognition of the important work we are doing in partnership with communities to help advance equity,” she said.

Gaurav Dave, an assistant professor in the UNC School of Medicine and associate director of the UNC Center for Health Equity Research, said Corbie-Smith is an incredible researcher and professional. 

“She is more than deserving of this award,” Dave said. “She has exceptional commitment to the work that she is doing in terms of health equity research. She has passion. She engages multiple stakeholders that are not only academic but community-based.”

Dave is working with Corbie-Smith with Project GRACE, a research collaboration between community members in rural, eastern North Carolina and researchers at UNC that is currently working on a project to reduce cardiovascular disease risk among African-American males in Nash and Edgecombe counties.

Dave said Corbie-Smith’s commitment to health equity research in underserved communities is something that makes her stand out.

“She recognizes not only the need, but helps find funding to work with those communities, builds those relationships and then eventually implements interventions that would benefit those communities and North Carolinians,” he said. 

Dave said that beyond her research, Corbie-Smith also cares about mentees like him that are trying to move up in the field.

“She is an exceptional, phenomenal mentor in not only guiding, helping and shaping the career trajectory (of her mentees) but also providing opportunities that I couldn’t even fathom,” he said.  

Corbie-Smith said she is looking forward to continuing to address health inequity in North Carolina and forging relationships with rural and minority communities. 

Though she’s not sure yet what will be required of her as a member of the National Academy of Medicine, she said eagerly, “I’m looking forward to finding out.”

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