U.S. Department of Health and Human Services NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News NIH Office of the Director (OD) http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, March 31, 2006 CONTACT: NIH Office of Communications and Public Liaison, 301-496-5787, http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/ NIH DIRECTOR SELECTS DR. ROGER I. GLASS AS FOGARTY INTERNATIONAL CENTER DIRECTOR Bethesda, Maryland -- Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced that Roger I. Glass, M.D., Ph.D., will be the new director of the Fogarty International Center (FIC) and Associate Director of NIH for international programs. Dr. Glass, who is currently the chief of the Viral Gastroenteritis Section at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, will join NIH in May, 2006. "Dr. Glass is a leading scientist and recognized expert in the development and introduction of rotavirus vaccines in the developing world," Dr. Zerhouni said. "His global view of the disease burden caused by infections and diseases will ensure that the Fogarty International Center continues to move forward in the quest to eliminate health disparities worldwide." "I am honored to lead the Fogarty International Center," said Dr. Glass. "The Center has a long history of funding programs to target infectious diseases that are highly prevalent in developing nations, such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. But it is in initiating programs that reflect the newest opportunities and challenges in predicting emerging global health problems that the Fogarty Center has been particularly noteworthy." Dr. Glass will oversee an annual budget of more than $60 million. The Fogarty International Center promotes and supports scientific research and training internationally to reduce disparities in global health. FIC has assumed a leadership role in formulating and implementing biomedical research and policy. Dr. Glass graduated from Harvard College in 1967, received a Fulbright Fellowship to study at the University of Buenos Aires in 1967, and received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and his M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1972. Dr. Glass joined the CDC in 1977 as a medical officer assigned to the Environmental Hazards Branch. He received his doctorate from the University of Goteborg, Sweden in 1983, and joined the National Institutes of Health Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, where he worked on the molecular biology of rotavirus. In 1986, Dr. Glass returned to the CDC to become Chief of the Viral Gastroenteritis Unit at the National Center for Infectious Diseases. Dr. Glass's research interests are in the prevention of gastroenteritis from rotaviruses and nonviruses through the application of novel scientific research. He has maintained field studies in India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Mexico, Israel, Russia, Vietnam, China and elsewhere. His research has been targeted toward epidemiologic studies to anticipate the introduction of rotavirus vaccines. He is fluent and often lectures in 5 languages. Dr. Glass has received numerous awards, including the Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service (DHHS), the Outstanding Unit Citation from the National Center for Infectious Diseases, the Outstanding Service Medal from the U.S. Public Health Service, and a Commendation Medal from the U.S. Public Health Service. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Microbiology, the American Society of Microbiology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Virology, and the American Epidemiological Society. Dr. Glass is also a fellow in the Infectious Disease Society and the American College of Epidemiology. Dr. Glass has co-authored more than 400 research papers and chapters. He is married to Barbara Stoll, M.D., the George W. Brumley, Jr. Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and the Medical Director of the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. He and his wife have three children. FIC, the international component of the NIH, addresses global health challenges through innovative and collaborative research and training programs and supports and advances the NIH mission through international partnerships. The Office of the Director, the central office at NIH, is responsible for setting policy for NIH, which includes 27 Institutes and Centers. This involves planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all NIH components. The Office of the Director also includes program offices which are responsible for stimulating specific areas of research throughout NIH. Additional information is available at http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- "The Nation's Medical Research Agency" -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov. ## This NIH News Release is available online at: http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/mar2006/od-31.htm. To subscribe (or unsubscribe) from this list, go to http://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=nihpress&A=1.
