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Global Health Matters >
Message From the Director
Message From the Director
 I
am pleased to welcome you to the second issue of Global Health
Matters and to write in my capacity as Acting Director of the
Fogarty International Center. I am honored that Dr. Zerhouni has
appointed me to lead the Center during the period of transition
to the naming of a permanent director. Having served as Deputy Director
for almost 4 years and for 5 years at FIC in other capacities, I
know firsthand how critical FIC's efforts are in advancing global
health, and the extraordinary talent and commitment of the FIC team.
I am happy, too, to announce that Richard Millstein, J.D., has
joined the Center on an interim basis as Acting Deputy Director.
Dick Millstein has served as Deputy Director of NIDA since 1988
and was NIDA's Acting Director for 2 years. He brings to the FIC
team a wealth of knowledge and expertise and is already playing
a key role in keeping the Center moving ahead with full steam!
As we look ahead, several programs and initiatives that have been
on the drawing board will be finalized and rolled out. For example,
in April we expect to launch a new research and training program
to address the growing burden of trauma and injury in developing
countries. As we have learned, trauma and injury, including challenges
related to interpersonal violence, road traffic injuries, and civil/societal
disturbances, kill more people than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined
and exact an enormous toll in morbidity and long-term suffering.
We will also continue our commitment to fostering and enhancing
a global culture of science, working to ensure that research data
are accessible around the world, building knowledge and capacity
in research bioethics, and working to ensure that the best and brightest
are recruited and retained in biomedicine. Among our activities
will be continued support and exploration of issues confronting
women in the life sciences, particularly those in low-and middle-income
nations, and efforts to work with science funding agencies around
the world on crosscutting issues of gender and sex as related to
global health challenges.
We will develop new partnerships and expand on FIC's interest
in the neurosciences. We have begun with a research program "Brain
Disorders in the Developing World: Research Across the Lifespan,"
and will continue to look at ways in which we can help address the
enormous global burden of disease posed by mental illness and a
variety of conditions affecting brain function.
This is a pivotal time for global health research and training.
The needs are great; so, too, are the opportunities and the commitment
to meet them. I welcome your ideas and comments as we continue to
look for opportunities to support Science for Global Health and
to advance the FIC agenda. Let me hear from you at: ficinfo@fic.nih.gov.
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