Harvey V. Fineberg is President of the Institute of Medicine.? He served as Provost of Harvard University from 1997 to 2001, following thirteen years as Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health.? He has devoted most of his academic career to the fields of health policy and medical decision making.? Dr. Fineberg helped found and served as president of the Society for Medical Decision Making and also served as adviser and consultant to the US Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.? At the Institute of Medicine, he has chaired and served on a number of panels dealing with health policy issues, ranging from AIDS to vaccine safety.? He is the author, co-author, and co-editor of numerous books and articles on such diverse topics as AIDS prevention, tuberculosis control, assessment of new medical technology, clinical and public health decision making, and understanding risk in society.