Dr. Peter J. Hotez
Dr. Peter Hotez has dedicated his life to raising the profile of - and developing vaccines for - the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that impact over one billion of the poorest people around the world. NTDs like hookworm, elephantiasis, and onchocerciasis are debilitating, disabling, stigmatizing, and even deadly, but as their name suggests, they have long been overlooked by the public health and international communities and overshadowed by other diseases.
Dr. Hotez saw the need for integration of the existing, vertical efforts to treat specific NTDs. In collaboration with colleagues around the world, Dr. Hotez helped launch the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases at the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, designed to fight the seven most common NTDs together to maximize impact and reduce inefficiencies.
In just over two years, the Global Network and its members have made tremendous progress in fighting NTDs around the world; Global Network members treated over 147 million people in 2007 alone at a cost as low as 50 cents per person, per year.
The Global Network, led by the enthusiasm and passion of Dr. Hotez, has also succeeded in inspiring individuals, celebrities, corporations, and politicians alike to care about NTDs. Grassroots campaigners
The post was somehow cut off; the remainder should read as follows: "Grassroots campaigners—often armed with videos of Dr. Hotez and celebrity ambassadors describing the devastation of NTDs—have raised thousands of dollars in their communities; global leaders including President Bush, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon have all finally addressed NTDs as a significant health problem.
Alongside his work for the Global Network, Dr. Hotez leads a team at the Sabin Vaccine Institute devoted to developing a human hookworm vaccine—a process that is making significant strides today and now includes efforts to work on a schistosomiasis vaccine. In addition to serving as the President and CEO of Sabin, he serves as the Walter G. Ross Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine at The George Washington University School of Medicine, enabling him to teach others about his passions. He is also the editor-in-chief of the scientific journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, and he has approximately 220 papers, op-ed pieces, and book chapters, including articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, and Science. In 2008 he wrote a book on NTDs: Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases, and was recently honored with an induction into the Institute of Medicine.
As he works tirelessly to advocate for NTD control efforts, Dr. Hotez maintains a sense of humility, and he never forgets the poorest of the poor around the world whose infections have been neglected for too long. Through his leadership and vision, the Global Network and its members are working to ensure that those infected with NTDs have access to the medicines they need, so that they can grow, learn, and become productive members of their communities again."
posted by Global_Network on 11/17/2008 8:59 am