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THE THOMAS FRANCIS, JR. MEDAL
IN GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH |
The 50th Anniversary Program - April 12, 2005
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April 12, 1955, was a remarkable day. An announcement made at 10am at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor literally changed the world, when Dr. Thomas Francis, Jr., announced that the new Salk polio vaccine was “safe, effective, and potent.”
So ended the largest field trial in the history of medicine, and so began the worldwide eradication of the dreaded disease of poliomyelitis.
This year, on April 12, 2005, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the announcement with a very special program at Rackham Auditorium, site of the original announcement.
We will be presenting the first “Thomas Francis Jr. Medal in Global Public Health” to William Foege, a distinguished leader in the field of public health. The medal honors a person whose lifetime dedication to public health mirrors that of the medal’s namesake, and Dr. Foege is certainly an apt choice.
Foege began a lifelong interest in infectious disease research when he went to Nigeria in 1966 as a medical missionary. In 1977, he became Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), then joined the Carter Center as executive director in 1986. He has been senior advisor to the Gates Foundation since 1999. We are indeed honored to be able to give this award to Dr. Foege.
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