Dr. Claudia Henschke (left), with (from left) Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP and chairman of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids; Dr. Cheryl Healton, president and CEO of the ALF; and Dr. Thomas H. Peterson, medical director of quality at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital and medical director of Healthier Communities, Spectrum Health, of Grand Rapids, Mich.
Dr. Claudia Henschke, professor of radiology and radiology in cardiothoracic surgery, was awarded with the 2008 Humanitarian in Medicine and Public Health Award from the American Legacy Foundation (ALF) on March 10 at a black-tie ceremony in New York City. The ALF Honors, now in its fifth year, recognizes leaders in business, entertainment, government, media and public health whose work has helped educate the public about the dangers of tobacco and has provided resources and tools for adults who need help quitting smoking. Dr. Henschke — who is chief of the Division of Chest Imaging at NewYork-Presbyerian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and principal investigator of the International Early Lung Cancer Action Project — was honored for her significant medical and scientific discoveries, including the finding that annual low-dose CT (computed tomography) screening dramatically improves lung cancer survival, and current studies on secondhand smoke. The American Legacy Foundation was created in 1999 as a result of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry.
Dr. Charles Inturrisi, professor of pharmacology, and Dr. Magda Mendez, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics, were members of a 14-person NIH Consensus Panel that met in Bethesda, Md., from Feb. 24 to 27, to review the use of hydroxyurea for the treatment of sickle cell disease. The panel issued a statement that made a number of recommendations, including the increased use of hydroxyurea for the treatment of the nearly 100,000 Americans affected by this disease, and for Medicare or Medicaid coverage of sickle cell patients of all ages.