April 26, 2010: New England and The Future of Global Health
April 21, 2010
CSIS, Boston University (BU), and Harvard University co-hosted an event Monday, April 26, to highlight the powerful role New England and its universities play in saving and enhancing lives around the world. Smart Global Health Commissioners Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Peter Lamptey, and Karen Remley joined Congressman Mike Capuano, BU President Robert Brown, Harvard provost Steve Hyman, senior executives from Genzyme, Novartis, and John Snow International, as well as students and professors from both universities, for a two hour discussion of New England’s role in the strategy laid out in the CSIS Commission report, A Healthier, Safer, and More Prosperous World.
Panelists throughout the program offered great enthusiasm about New England’s current and potential contributions to global health. BU Professor of International Health Gerald Keusch described New England as “a powerful center for global health innovation.” Phil Dormitzer, Senior Director at Novartis, echoed this sentiment, explaining that the Boston area lends itself to cutting edge vaccine research, thanks to its partnerships between academics and private industry. Congressman Capuano argued that future global health accomplishments will be driven from the bottom up. Leadership, he said, “comes from a thousand places.”
The event also highlighted the importance of global health students, who will provide that leadership into the future. The final panel allowed global health students from area universities to share their excitement about their work and ideas. Bryan Lublin, a student from BU, described his role in developing a solar-powered pulse oximeter, allowing measurement of blood oxygen levels even when lacking an external power source. He and the other students provided strong evidence of what Senator Shaheen told the assembled students: “Your generation understands the global world that we are in and, more importantly, the need for global health.”
Video, audio and photographs forthcoming. This event was recorded and webcast live by Boston University.
