The newly elected members of the National Academy of Medicine include three Medical School faculty, recognized for their “major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health.”

Dee E. Fenner, Lisa Hope Harris and Frederick Kofi Korley are among the 100 people receiving one of the highest honors in medicine. 

They join 83 other current, former and late U-M faculty who have earned this distinction.

Dee E. Fenner

Elizabeth Bates Professor of Diseases of Women and Children, chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and of urology, Medical School

Fenner is being honored for her work in studying fecal incontinence in aging and postpartum women and for pioneering rehabilitation and repair for postpartum perineal damage. 

She is nationally recognized as an expert in defecation disorders, surgical education, and reconstructive surgery.

Her membership to the National Academy of Medicine is the latest honor recognizing her leadership in the field of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. In 2011, she was named “Continence Champion” by the National Association for Continence. 

Fenner received the Sarah Goddard Power Award in 2015 from U-M for leadership in the advancement of women. She was also awarded the 2019 Rudi Ansbacher Leadership Award for Support of Women in Healthcare.

In 2024, she received the inaugural Bucksbaum Institute Award for dedication to clinical excellence and the advancement of the doctor-patient relationship.

Lisa Hope Harris

Arthur F. Thurnau Professor; George E. Wantz Professor of Interdisciplinary Enrichment in Medicine, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, director, Center for History, Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Ethics in Medicine, Medical School; professor of women’s and gender studies, director, Health Sciences Scholars Program, LSA

Harris has earned recognition for her bioethics scholarship, her interdisciplinary approaches to a wide range of reproductive healthcare issues, and her work bridging divides on polarizing healthcare issues like abortion.

In her clinical work, Harris specializes in miscarriage management and family planning. She has led multiple new clinical and training initiatives at Michigan Medicine. 

As a professor, she has taught Women’s and Gender Studies 400 to U-M undergraduates for over two decades. She has also taught at U-M’s Medical School, Law School and School of Public Health. 

Her research includes influential work on conscience-based provision of healthcare, the development of physician communications strategies on polarizing topics, and understanding of abortion stigma.

Harris co-chaired a 2022 U-M taskforce on abortion access.

Previous honors for her work include the Bernard Lo Award in Bioethics, the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals’ “Preserving Core Values in Science Award,” and the Outstanding Researcher Award from the Society of Family Planning.

Frederick Kofi Korley

Professor of emergency medicine, associate chair for research, Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical School

For his pioneering research, clinical trial leadership and impactful mentoring, Korley has been identified by the National Academy of Medicine as “an international leader in emergency medicine.”

His biomarker research has led to novel diagnostics and therapeutics for traumatic brain injury, including the clinical implementation of a novel blood test. Korley holds four patents for biofluid-based biomarkers used to detect brain injury and the analytical methods to measure them.

He is also being recognized specifically for leading the first NIH R38 training program for emergency medicine residents.

Korley was a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Accelerating Progress in Traumatic Brain Injury Research and Care. He is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigators.

He previously received the 2021 Society of Academic Emergency Medicine Mid-Career Investigator Award.