Jessica (Saling) Gill ’98, a leading researcher on traumatic brain injuries and the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in October 2021. The National Academy of Medicine advances knowledge and progress in science, medicine, policy and health equity. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research.
Gill has spent decades investigating the effects of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in military personnel, athletes and other patients. She specifically looks at biomarkers to better understand why some patients recover better from TBIs while others are left with long-term neurological and psychological symptoms. She was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2012 for her work on brain injuries, the highest scientific accolade awarded by the United States government. She has also served as a Lasker Clinical Research Scholar with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and in leadership positions within the National Institute of Nursing Research.
After graduating from Linfield with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a minor in biology, she earned her master’s degree at Oregon Health & Sciences University in 2001 and her doctorate from Johns Hopkins in 2007. She has published over 100 research papers while an investigator at the NIH and has served as a professor at Johns Hopkins since summer 2021.
“I am excited to be part of the NAM and to join in its cross-disciplinary efforts to advise national and global responses to advancing science and health equity,” Gill said. “It’s another opportunity to share my work and improve health around the world.”
