Congratulations to Dr. Dale Abel, DEO of Internal Medicine and Director of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center, on his recent appointment to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Advisory Council of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Abel will serve a four-year term that began in November 2016. The council advises and consults with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the NHLBI on matters relating to the cause, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases. This group meets four times a year and reviews applications and makes recommendations on research and training grants in addition to other funding and operational activities.

Dr. Abel has also been elected to the American Clinical and Climatological Association (ACCA). His formal induction to this 133-year-old organization will occur in October 2017. The ACCA’s membership seeks to improve national medical education, research, and practice, focusing particularly on the effects of global climate change on health and epidemiological medicine. In addition to Dr. Abel, Cardiovascular Medicine’s Division Director Dr. Barry London will join this respected organization in the fall. Drs. Abel and London join other University of Iowa members such as Drs. Janet Schlechte, Joseph Zabner, Jean Robillard, George Weiner, Peter Densen, Jack Stapleton, and François Abboud, who served as ACCA President from 2007 to 2008.