Rose Marie Martinez, Sc.D., is the Director of the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice.  The Board examines and develops strategies for health promotion and disease prevention across the lifespan, taking into account the multiple factors affecting health. The Board addresses the science base for public health interventions and examines the capacity of the health system, particularly the public health infrastructure, to support disease prevention and health promotion activities, including the education and supply of health professionals necessary for carrying them out.

Prior to joining the IOM, Dr. Martinez was a Senior Health Researcher at Mathematica Policy Research where she conducted research on the impact of health system change on the public health infrastructure, access to care for vulnerable populations, managed care, and the health care workforce.  Dr. Martinez is a former Assistant Director for Health Financing and Policy with the U.S. General Accounting Office where she directed evaluations and policy analysis in the area of national and public health issues. Her experience also includes seven years directing research studies for the Regional Institute for Studies on Health and Social Welfare for the Regional Health Ministry of Madrid Spain.

Dr. Martinez received the degree of Doctor of Science from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.

 Lyla M. Hernandez, M.P.H.,  has been a Senior Program Officer with the Institute of Medicine for the past eleven years. During that time she has been study director for projects related to Gulf War veterans’ health, public health, complementary and alternative medicine, and genomics. Reports from her most recently completed studies include Genes, Behavior, and the Social Environment: Moving Beyond the Nature/Nurture Debate and Training Physicians for Public Health Careers. Prior to joining the IOM, Lyla was Director of the Pharmacy Intelligence Center of the American Pharmaceutical Association where she was responsible for identifying and conducting analyses of health care issues, national programs, and policies that affect pharmacy. She also served as Executive Director of the American Medical Peer Review Organization, the national trade association for organizations evaluating the utilization and quality of medical care. Lyla received her Masters of Public Health degree from the University of California at Berkeley and her Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana.