Two University of Pittsburgh health officials have received major awards in their fields.

Linda Siminerio, executive director of Pitt's Diabetes Institute, has received the American Diabetes Association's 2007 Josiah K. Lilly Distinguished Service Award, given each year to the person, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the lives of people with diabetes.

Dr. Siminerio long has been a worldwide advocate of diabetes self-management and education. She was the first woman editor of Diabetes Forecast magazine and has written several books on diabetes. She has held various positions in the United States and abroad, including serving as chairwoman of the 2009 International Diabetes Foundation's World Diabetes Congress.

Meanwhile, the Institute of Medicine selected Dr. David A. Lewis as one of its newest members for his contributions in treating schizophrenia and publicizing its importance as a major public health issue.

Dr. Lewis, a professor in Pitt's departments of psychiatry and neuroscience and director of the Translational Neuroscience Program, has focused his research on the neural circuitry of the prefrontal cortex and related brain regions, and how the circuitry is altered in schizophrenia. He is the 19th IOM member from Pitt.