Top U.S. Global Health Researcher to Push for More U.S. Support

Newswise — James W. Kazura, M.D., Professor of International Health and Medicine, and Director, Center for Global Health and Diseases at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has been selected to join a group of 25 experts in global health research who will advocate for greater U.S. investment in global health research. He joins 50 of his peers in Research!America's Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research in a united effort to build a national conversation around the value and importance of U.S. funded global heath research.

The Rogers Society, named for the Honorable Paul G. Rogers (1921-2008), former Florida Congressman, renowned champion for health research, and Research!America chair emeritus, works to increase awareness of and make the case for greater U.S. investment in research to fight diseases that disproportionately affect the world's poorest nations.

Dr. Kazura is an expert in malaria and chronic worm infections endemic in tropical areas of the developing world such as Africa, the South Pacific and Latin America. His work to develop preventative and interventional strategies that are both culturally appropriate and cost effective is important for the health, security, and quality of life of people in Ohio and all over the nation. His work also plays a crucial role in boosting the economy of Ohio and maintaining America's overall competitiveness in research on emerging infections that are threats to human health at a global level He and his peers were selected by an advisory council comprised of renowned leaders in science, public policy and communications, including four Nobel Laureates. Together they will meet with their policymakers to make the case for an increased U.S. investment in global health research through the examples of their own research.

"We have a new Congress and a new Administration. Now is the time when we can make a difference for global health research. These Ambassadors will be exceptional leaders in advocacy. Their example will serve as an inspiration for every global health researcher" said the Honorable John Edward Porter, chair of the Rogers Society Advisory Council and Research!America board chair. "Paul Rogers' spirit lives on through the work of each of these Ambassadors. As he often said, without research, there is no hope."

The Society was established in 2006 by Research!America with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Research!America works with the Ambassadors to maximize the effectiveness of their outreach to policy makers, opinion leaders and the media.

Research!America is the nation's largest not-for-profit public education and advocacy alliance working to make research to improve health a higher national priority. Founded in 1989, it is supported by 500 member organizations, which represent more than 125 million Americans. For more information, visit www.researchamerica.org.

About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and 15th largest among the nation's medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Eleven Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the school.

The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching and in 2002, became the third medical school in history to receive a pre-eminent review from the national body responsible for accrediting the nation's academic medical institutions. The School's innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century.

Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 600 M.D. and M.D./Ph.D. students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report Guide to Graduate Education. The School of Medicine's primary clinical affiliate is University Hospitals and is additionally affiliated with MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. http://casemed.case.edu.