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Bridbord, Holmes lauded as global health leaders

Dr. Ken Bridbord and Dr. King Holmes are co-recipients of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) 2019 Distinguished Leadership Award, the organization’s highest honor. As longtime director of Fogarty’s extramural programs, Bridbord created initiatives that provided research training for 6,000 scientists in low- and middle-income countries. Now retired, Bridbord is a Fogarty senior scientist emeritus.

Holmes, a Fogarty advisory board member and grantee, is professor and founding director of the Department of Global Health (DGH) at the University of Washington. In his more than 50 years of global health research and training, Holmes has collaborated with over 170 trainees and mentees, and has produced some 800 publications.

• Related news: Fogarty’s Dr Ken Bridbord celebrated for 35 years of service
  Jan / Feb 2019 Global Health Matters
• CUGH 2019 Distinguished Leadership in Global Health Awards

NIH cancer director Sharpless moves to FDA

Dr. Norman E. "Ned" Sharpless, director of NIH’s National Cancer Institute since 2017, has been tapped to become acting FDA commissioner in April. Previously, Sharpless directed the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina. Sharpless treated leukemia patients and conducted research on cancer and aging.

Swaminathan named WHO’s chief scientist

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, a former Fogarty trainee, has been appointed to a newly created WHO position, Chief Scientist, charged with strengthening the organization’s core scientific work. She had been deputy director-general for programs. A pediatrician and clinical researcher, Swaminathan was director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research before joining WHO.

Richards-Kortum added to Inventors Hall of Fame

Former Fogarty advisory board member Dr. Rebecca Richards-Kortum is among the 2019 inductees into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. A professor of bioengineering and director of the Rice 360° Institute for Global Health at Rice University, Richards-Kortum develops medical devices for use in low-resource settings.

Oral cholera vaccine developer Clemens honored

Dr. John D. Clemens, executive director of Fogarty grantee institution the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), is a co-recipient of Thailand’s Prince Mahidol Award. Clemens and longtime collaborator Dr. Jan R. Holmgren of Sweden were recognized for developing an oral cholera vaccine that has protected millions of people.

Abdool Karim, West awarded by Kuwait for HIV research

Longtime Fogarty grantee Dr. Salim Abdool Karim shares Kuwait’s 2018 Al-Sumait Prize for Health, a Kuwaiti award honoring people and organizations that address challenges in Africa. Abdool Karim, director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, was recognized for his contributions to HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention.

Also honored, Dr. Sheila West of Johns Hopkins University who has conducted NIH-funded research in Africa on trachoma, a bacterial infection that is a leading cause of blindness in the developing world. Her work has contributed to the control of blindness in both children and adults.

The Rakai Health Sciences Program, a nonprofit independent research center in Uganda, was recognized for its fight against HIV/AIDS. The program was founded in 1987 as a partnership between NIH, Makerere University, Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University.

NIH taps Byrnes to head Center for Scientific Review

Dr. Noni H. Byrnes was named director of NIH’s Center for Scientific Review (CSR). CSR manages the receipt and referral of all grant proposals for NIH and other parts of the Department of Health and Human Services and oversees the peer review of about 75 percent of the grant applications NIH receives. Byrnes, who has a PhD in analytical chemistry, has worked at CSR for nearly two decades.