Giselle Corbie-Smith, MD, MSc, Kenan Distinguished Professor, departments of Social Medicine and Medicine, has been elected President of the Society of General Internal Medicine. She will serve a three-year term as president of the organization beginning this year.

SGIM is an American medical society of 3,000 physicians, focused on clinical research and studies to improve internal medicine.

“I am honored to be elected president of the SGIM, a professional organization that has always put the care of our patients, particularly those most vulnerable, at the center of teaching, research, and policy,” Corbie-Smith said.

“This election gives me the opportunity to bring together my 20 plus years of involvement in the organization, my leadership and research as a health equity researcher, the work we are doing within the Center for Health Equity Research, UNC’s commitment to the health of NC residents and national efforts to ensure health equity.”

In addition to her teaching appointments, Corbie-Smith holds leadership positions at UNC including as director of the Center or Health Equity Research (CHER), director of the NC TraCS Community Academic Resources for Engaged Scholarships (CARES) services, co-director of the Program on Health Disparities through the Sheps Center, and co-director of the RWJF Clinical Scholars Program.

As a researcher, she is nationally recognized for her expertise in community-engaged and patient-oriented studies. She has been the principal investigator of grants funded through the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD), and the National Human Genome Research Institute, among others.