Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc., National Office

Before joining the IOM, Dr. Salerno was Deputy Director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She oversaw the Institute’s research into aging, including research on Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, frailty and function in late life, and the social, behavioral and demographic aspects of aging. As the NIA’s senior geriatrician, Dr. Salerno was vitally interested in improving the health and well-being of older persons, and designed public-private initiatives to address aging stereotypes, novel approaches to support training of new investigators in aging, and programs to communicate health and research advances to the public. Before joining the NIA in 2001, Dr. Salerno directed the continuum of Geriatrics and Extended Care programs across the nation for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Washington, D.C. While at the VA, she launched widely recognized national initiatives for pain management and improving end-of-life care. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Salerno was Associate Chief of Staff at the VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C. where she developed and implemented innovative approaches to geriatric primary care and coordinated area-wide geriatric medicine training. Dr. Salerno also co-founded the Washington D.C. Area Geriatric Education Center Consortium, a collaboration of more than 160 educational and community organizations within the Baltimore-Washington region. A board-certified physician in internal medicine, Dr. Salerno earned her M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School in 1985 and a Master of Science degree in Health Policy from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1976.

Led by more than 100,000 survivors and activists, we are the world's largest and most progressive grassroots network fighting to end breast cancer forever. As the face and voice of the global breast cancer movement … We are local activists in more than 120 cities and communities, mobilizing more than 1.7 million friends and neighbors every year through events like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® Series—the world's largest and most successful awareness and fundraising event for breast cancer. We are advocates at the local, state and federal level, fighting for the screening and treatment programs that save lives and the research that brings us closer to the cures. We are global citizens working with local health groups around the world and through our Web site, komen.org, to help millions of women in nearly 200 countries overcome the social, cultural and economic barriers to breast health and treatment.