Donald Lindberg, MD *

Donald A.B. Lindberg, M.D., a scientist who has pioneered in applying computer technology to health care beginning in 1960 at the University of Missouri, in 1984 was appointed Director of the National Library of Medicine, the world's largest biomedical library (annual budget $275 million; 690 career staff). From 1992-1995 he served in a concurrent position as founding Director of the National Coordination Office for High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President. In 1996 he was named by the HHS Secretary to be the U.S. Coordinator for the G-7 Global Health Applications Project. In addition to an eminent career in pathology, Dr. Lindberg has made notable contributions to information and computer activities in medical diagnosis, artificial intelligence, and educational programs. Before his appointment as NLM Director, he was Professor of Information Science and Professor of Pathology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has current academic appointments as Clinical Professor of Pathology at the University of Virginia and Adjunct Professor of Pathology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Lindberg was elected the first President of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA). As the country's senior statesman for medicine and computers, he has been called upon to serve on many boards including the Computer Science and Engineering Board of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Board of Medical Examiners, and the Council of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Lindberg is the author of three books: The Computer and Medical Care; Computers in Life Science Research; and The Growth of Medical Information Systems in the United States, several book chapters, and more than 200 articles and reports. He has served as editor and editorial board member of nine publications including the Journal of the American Medical Association. A complete bibliography is available. Dr. Lindberg graduated Magna cum Laude from Amherst College and received his M.D. degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. Among the honors he has received are Phi Beta Kappa, Simpson Fellow of Amherst College, Markle Scholar in Academic Medicine, Surgeon General's Medallion, recipient of the First AMA Nathan Davis Award for outstanding Member of the Executive Branch in Career Public Service, the Walter C. Alvarez Memorial Award of the American Medical Writers Association, the Presidential Senior Executive Rank Award, Founding Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, the Outstanding Service Medal of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Federal Computer Week's Federal 100 Award, Computers in Healthcare Pioneer Award, Association of Minority Health Professions Schools Commendation, RCI High Performance Computing Industry Recognition Award, U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Silver Award, Council of Biology Editors Meritorious Award, HHS Meritorious Service Award, Medical Library Association President's Award, American College of Medical Informatics Morris F. Collen, M.D. Award of Excellence, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Ranice W. Crosby Distinguished Achievement Award, New York Academy of Medicine Information Frontier Award, Cosmos Club Award, American Medical Women's Association Lila A. Wallis Women's Health Award, U.S. Medicine Frank Brown Berry Prize, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the New York Academy of Medicine, and honorary doctorates from Amherst College; the State University of New York at Syracuse; the University of Missouri-Columbia; and the University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Innsbruck, Austria.