Mary Ann Sens appointed to national board Mary Ann Sens, chair of pathology, has been appointed to the board of directors of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME). She will serve a three-year term on NAME, a professional organization of physician medical examiners, medical death investigators and death investigation system administrators who perform the official duties of the medical and legal investigation of deaths of public interest in the United States. The role of the 20-member board is to define the priorities within forensic pathology which guide how death investigations are carried out in this country, Sens said. Her appointment is significant because rural areas have not had representation on this board. In determining causes of death, "what works in large, metropolitan areas does not work in rural areas," she said, citing lack of resources and transportation issues. "We can't take the mold of what works in New York City and think it's going to work here." People deserve the truth, especially about sudden and suspicious deaths. Without it, families can be put at risk by being unaware of genetic conditions they may have, said Sens who has been active in NAME for about 20 years since focusing her professional interests on forensic medicine. Sens is a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP), having served on its board of directors, where she currently is on the group's nine-member Fellows Council. She also serves on ASCP's President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Committee which oversees the Bush Administration initiative to establish quality laboratories, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, to ensure accurate and reliable testing for treating AIDS patients. Sens is medical coroner for Grand Forks County and Marshall and Red Lake Counties in Minnesota. -- Shelley Pohlman, Assistant to the Director, Public Affairs, spohlman@medicine.nodak.edu, 701-777-4305