International public health expert to speak January 25
| January 24, 2006 | |
| Dr. Barry R. Bloom, an award-winning leader in international health and former consultant to the White House, will deliver the Ralph R. Landes Lecture at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine on Wednesday, Jan. 25.His lecture, “The Global Impact of Infectious Disease,” is part of the 39th annual John B. Graham Student Research Society’s Student Research Day. His lecture, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. in the Medical Biomolecular Research Building’s main auditorium, is free to the public.
Bloom is dean of the faculty and Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson professor of public health at Harvard University. He pursues an active interest in bench science as the principal investigator of a laboratory researching the immune response to tuberculosis, a disease that claims more than 2 million lives annually. He has been extensively involved with the World Health Organization (WHO) for more than 30 years and is a member of the WHO Advisory Committee on Health Research. Bloom was elected president of the American Association of Immunologists in 1984 and was president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in 1985. He has been a member of the National Advisory Allergy and Infectious Diseases Council at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Advisory Board of the NIH’s Fogarty International Center, the Scientific Advisory Board of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Infectious Diseases and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Vaccine Advisory Committee. He was an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 1977-78, Bloom was a consultant to the White House on international health policy. He received the first Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Infectious Diseases Research, the John Enders Award of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in 1994, shared the Novartis Award in Immunology in 1998 and received the Robert Koch Gold Medal in 1999. “We are pleased to welcome to UNC an outstanding leader in public health and science, Dr. Barry Bloom. I have known Dr. Bloom for many years and admire his many contributions to improving health around the world,” said Dr. William L. Roper, UNC School of Medicine dean, chief executive officer of the UNC Health Care System and vice chancellor for medical affairs at UNC. Founded 39 years ago, the John B. Graham Student Research Society recognizes outstanding student achievement in medical research, creates and promotes student interest in clinical and basic science and in other medicine-related research areas, and coordinates opportunities for students to present their research to their peers, faculty and staff. Slide and poster presentations are scheduled from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Graham, a Goldsboro native and pioneer in bleeding disorders research at UNC, was Alumni distinguished professor emeritus of pathology and laboratory medicine prior to his death in 2004. Dr. Ralph R. Landes, who died in 1989, was a clinical professor of surgery and former historian of the American Urological Association. The fund named in his honor enables the School of Medicine to invite a renowned investigator to teach and to interact with students and inspire them to continue their interest and participation in research. # # # School of Medicine contact: Les Lang, (919) 843-9687 or llang@med.unc.edu. For further information please contact Ramona DuBose either by phone at 919-966-7467 or by e-mail at ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
