People in the news - August 2018

Global health leader Mahmoud is mourned

Dr. Adel Mahmoud, an infectious diseases expert who was an advisor to Fogarty, the NIH, WHO and other organizations, died in June. A Princeton University professor, Mahmoud previously led Merck Vaccines, where he oversaw development of vaccines to prevent rotavirus infection, cancer-causing HPV, shingles and the combination measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox vaccine.

Photo courtesy of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

Malaria researcher Doumbo has died

Internationally recognized malaria researcher and longtime Fogarty collaborator Dr. Ogobora Doumbo has died. Doumbo chaired the Department of Epidemiology and Parasitic Diseases at Mali’s University of Bamako and co-founded and directed the Malaria Research and Training Center. He was involved in several malaria drug and vaccine trials.

U.S. State Department names science envoys

Five distinguished scientists, including a Fogarty advisory board member, are the newest members of the U.S. Department of State Science Envoy Program. Fogarty advisory board member Dr. Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Director of the Rice 360 Institute for Global Health at Rice University, is Science Envoy for Health Security. She will focus on expanding access to American engineering research and curriculum to build capacity and opportunities for U.S. collaboration in Africa.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, who directs the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, and has been a Fogarty collaborator, is Science Envoy for Health Security. To combat biological threats, he’ll work with priority countries on infectious disease preparedness and antimicrobial stewardship.

As Science Envoy for Innovation, chemical engineer Dr. Robert S. Langer, Jr., will concentrate on novel approaches in biomaterials, drug delivery systems, nanotechnology and tissue engineering. An Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Langer has received more than 220 major awards.

Dr. James Schauer, who directs Wisconsin’s public and environmental health lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is Science Envoy for Air Quality. In this role, he will highlight American scientific strategies and technologies for mitigating poor air quality with a focus on South Asia.

A former astronaut and NASA administrator, Charles Frank Bolden, Jr. (USMC-Ret.) is Science Envoy for Space. Bolden, who flew four space shuttle missions including the first joint U.S.-Russian mission, will focus on space exploration and commercial opportunities.

Photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls