The Department of Global Health is pleased to announce that two of the three Washington Global Health Alliance (WGHA) 2015 Pioneers of Global Health Award winners are associated with the Department: Christopher Fox and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. This year’s winners, selected by a panel of global health experts, are noted for their significant achievements in disease estimation and metrics, reproductive health, and formulating vaccine adjuvants for disease like malaria and tuberculosis. Each award winner was selected because of their demonstrated desire to nurture and grow Washington’s collaborative global health community. Winners will be honored at WGHA’s annual event, the Pioneers of Global Health Awards Dinner & Auction, October 8, 2015, at The Triple Door in Seattle.
The Rising Leader award recognizes a creative and inspirational young leader dedicated to solving global health inequity while partnering with other individuals and organizations. Christopher Fox, PhD, is a pioneer in the field of adjuvant technology and currently works with the Department's Pathobiology Graduate Program. Since joining the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) in 2007, Dr. Fox has played an integral role in developing, characterizing, and manufacturing cGMP vaccine adjuvant formulations for a variety of infectious diseases, including leishmaniasis, malaria, tuberculosis, pandemic influenza, and amebiasis, resulting in more than 40 publications. He currently serves as principal investigator on an US$11.9M contract from the National Institutes of Health to develop a thermostable tuberculosis vaccine suitable for distribution in developing countries.
“I’m extremely pleased to receive the Pioneers of Global Health Rising Leader Award. I think it reflects on the exceptional environment here at IDRI and in Washington State overall that fosters opportunities to excel in global health research, product development, and technology transfer to developing countries. I feel immensely fortunate to be a part of it,” said Dr. Fox.
The Outstanding Global Health Organization award recognizes a Washington state-based organization making an exceptional impact in improving global health equity. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is being honored for its large-scale impact on policy because of its rigorous and comparable measurement of the world's most important health problems. IHME is responsible for the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD)—the largest and most comprehensive effort to date to measure epidemiological levels and trends worldwide with more than 1,000 collaborators from 108 countries. IHME makes this information freely available so that policymakers have the evidence they need to make informed decisions about how to allocate resources to best improve health.
“The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is honored to be recognized by the Washington Global Health Alliance with the Pioneers of Global Health Award,” said IHME Director Dr. Christopher Murray. “WGHA plays a vital role in highlighting the impact of our community’s work. IHME is proud to be a member and help support these efforts.”
Join us to recognize award winners on Thursday, October 8, 2015, at the second Annual WGHA Pioneers of Global Health Awards Dinner & Auction presented by PwC. Limited individual tickets will be released to the public on August 3, 2015.