In Recognition of Weill Cornell Professor's Major Contributions to Educating Physicians in Field of Global Health
NEW YORK (March 12, 2007) — Dr. Jean W. Pape, an internationally recognized infectious disease expert and professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, was recently honored with a Distinguished Service Award from the Global Health Education Consortium (GHEC) in recognition of his "outstanding and dedicated leadership in expanding and enhancing the education of physicians in the field of global health."
Dr. Pape is the founder and director of the Haitian Study Group on Opportunistic Infection and Kaposi's Sarcoma (known by its Haitian acronym GHESKIO), an organization which has championed education, health care and HIV research in Haiti, and which has worked closely with Weill Cornell since its inception.
The awards ceremony took place on Feb. 16 at the 16th annual GHEC meeting in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Dr. Pape also gave the keynote address on the impact of research on public health.
"Dr. Pape is very deserving of this special honor. He was the first to recognize and give a comprehensive description of AIDS in the developing world. His success in implementing programs to control the spread of AIDS and tuberculosis in Haiti have served as a model for how poor countries with few resources can combat this disease and others," says Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., dean of Weill Cornell Medical College.
"This award reflects Dr. Pape's outstanding achievements in the field of HIV/AIDS and his deep humanism and compassion," says Dr. Anvar Velji, chairman of the GHEC award committee and co-founder of GHEC.
The work of GHESKIO and others has led to a 50 percent decrease in infant mortality in Haiti and to a similar decrease in the national HIV prevalence. GHESKIO has provided care to more than 100,000 children in its pediatric rehydration unit; has trained more than 14,645 health-care workers; and provides free testing, counseling, and care for HIV infection and tuberculosis to more than 100,000 persons annually, including 25,000 new patients. The organization is the second oldest institution in the world, after the United States Centers for Disease Control, dedicated to the battle against HIV/AIDS, childhood diarrhea and tuberculosis.
Dr. Pape, a native of Haiti who has worked there since the onset of the AIDS epidemic in 1980, received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College (now Weill Cornell Medical College) in 1975. In addition to his role with GHESKIO, he also directs, in concert with Weill Cornell's Division of International Medicine and Infectious Diseases, a National Institutes of Health training and research program that focuses on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and diarrheal illness.
Dr. Pape is the recipient of numerous awards, including the United Nations Award, presented by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan for contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS; the Legion of Merit Award; and the Legion d'Honneur (Au Grade de Chevalier), presented by France's President Jacques Chirac, for Dr. Pape's contribution to the improvement of the health of the Haitian people and that of people in the world.
Despite Haiti's ongoing political turmoil and deteriorating economic conditions, GHESKIO continues to provide uninterrupted care and training, and conduct translational research. New therapies and management strategies for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and diarrhea have been validated and implemented. Additionally, a world-class vaccine and clinical trials unit has been established with NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) support.
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Weill Cornell Medical College
Weill Cornell Medical College — located in New York City — is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine. Weill Cornell, which is a principal academic affiliate of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, offers an innovative curriculum that integrates the teaching of basic and clinical sciences, problem-based learning, office-based preceptorships, and primary care and doctoring courses. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research in such areas as stem cells, genetics and gene therapy, geriatrics, neuroscience, structural biology, cardiovascular medicine, AIDS, obesity, cancer and psychiatry — and continue to delve ever deeper into the molecular basis of disease in an effort to unlock the mysteries behind the human body and the malfunctions that result in serious medical disorders. Weill Cornell Medical College is the birthplace of many medical advances — from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., and most recently, the world's first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease. Weill Cornell's Physician Organization includes 650 clinical faculty, who provide the highest quality of care to their patients.
Global Health Education Consortium
GHEC is a consortium of faculty and health-care educators dedicated to global health education in health professions schools and residency programs. Founded in 1991 as the International Medical Health Education Consortium, IHMEC met an evident need, membership rapidly grew, educational products were developed and the annual conferences are well-attended. In 2005 IHMEC changed its name the Global Health Education Consortium, the new name reflecting the consortium's desire to include other health professions besides medicine and a preference for the more inclusive term of "global" over the traditional one of "international." GHEC membership includes individuals from more than 70 health profession schools and training programs — the great majority in the United States, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean.
Lezlie Greenberg
leg2003@med.cornell.edu