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Global Health Matters

November - December, 2008  |  Volume 7, Issue 6

 

Daschle named secretary of DHHS

President-elect Barack Obama selected former Sen. Tom Daschle as secretary of health and human services. In addition to heading the department, Daschle also will serve as Obama's White House adviser on health reform. Daschle said his role would be "not just implementing reform but helping to generate it" as well as supporting the "researching the cures of tomorrow."

CNN series features Dr. Nathan Wolfe

Dr. Nathan Wolfe, a Fogarty and NIH grantee, was featured on CNN's "Planet in Peril" series recently as Anderson Cooper traveled with him through the jungles of Cameroon following small game hunters. In a time of rising food prices, the bush meat feeds their families and can be sold in urban areas. But the contact between hunter and animal is a leading cause of new viruses that can spread around the world in hours. Wolfe also spoke at a Fogarty-sponsored symposium at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Grantee can be heard on mollusk podcast

Dr. Margo G. Haygood of the Oregon Health & Science University, who recently won a $4 million award from Fogarty and other federal agencies, explained her project of studying sea snails and shipworms on a podcast produced by Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News. Her work in the Phillipines--"right smack in the center of the region of highest marine biodiversity on earth." Hear the podcast at http://tinyurl.com/5z23qh.

Rosenthal speaks on biodiversity value

Dr. Joshua Rosenthal, Fogarty's deputy director of international training and research, was part of a symposium panel at the recent National Council for Science and the Environmental biodiversity conference.

He spoke on the value of biodiversity to the search for new medicines and therapies and the role of animals, plants, and microbes in understanding human physiology, disease and dysfunction.

Birnbaum returns to head NIEHS

Dr. Linda Birnbaum, a microbiologist and president-elect of the International Union of Toxicology, will become director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in January. Birnbaum has served as a federal scientist for nearly 29 years--the first ten of those at NIEHS--and most recently as a senior advisor at the Environmental Protection Agency, where she served for 16 years as director of the Experimental Toxicology Division. She succeeds Dr. David Schwartz.

Rockey designated acting head of OER

Dr. Sally Rockey has been named Acting Director of the NIH Office of Extramural Affairs. She joined the NIH in late January 2005 as the OER deputy director. Previously, she was chief information officer at the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service of the Agriculture Department. At OER, Rockey led the transition from paper to electronic applications and served as the NIH research integrity officer.

Sabin Institute names new chairman

Retired businessman and philanthropist Morton P. Hyman has been named chair of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, succeeding founding president Dr. Philip K. Russell.

"Mort Hyman's election as board chair comes at an opportune time as we expand our activities into multi-dimensional aspects of neglected tropical and other infectious diseases," says President Dr. Peter Hotez, a member of Fogarty's advisory board.

UNAIDS gets new executive director

United National Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has named Michel Sidibe as the new executive director of UNAIDS, succeeding Peter Piot as of Jan. 1. Piot announced his retirement earlier in 2008 after 13 years in the post.

"He brings a wealth of experience together with a firm commitment to human rights and to greater involvement of people living with or affected by HIV-AIDS," Ban said.