Global health leaders to convene in honor of UCSF'S Dean Debas
The UCSF School of Medicine will welcome international experts to its Parnassus campus for a global health and education symposium on Friday, June 20, in honor of Haile Debas, MD, who is stepping down after 10 years as the school’s dean. Debas will also be ending his tenure as vice chancellor for medical affairs for UCSF.
The day in his honor will begin with an international research competition of student presentations from 11 a.m. to noon in the School of Nursing, N 225. George W. Rutherford, MD, UCSF professor of epidemiology and biostatistics and interim director of the Institute for Global Health, will serve as moderator for the presentations which include a comparison of antiretroviral therapy drug regimens for HIV infection, a study of antibiotic resistance and an examination of the role of nurses in voluntary counseling and testing in a rural African hospital.
The afternoon symposium on global health and education will be held at 1 p.m. in Cole Hall and will be simulcast to other campus locations. UCSF Chancellor J. Michael Bishop will open the program with a welcome speech. Neal H. Cohen, MD, vice dean for academic affairs in the UCSF School of Medicine, will serve as symposium moderator.
Invited speakers are:
· M. Roy Schwarz, president, China Medical Board of New York, Inc., who will address “Globalization: Impact on Medical Education.”
· Richard D. Klausner, executive director, Global Health, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who will speak on “Grand Challenges of Science & Technology in Global Health.”
· Julie L. Gerberding, director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who will talk about “Global Challenges: Beyond Orange Alert.”
· Richard G. A. Feachem, director, Fund for Global Health and UCSF professor of epidemiology & biostatistics, who will address “The War Against Diseases of Mass Destruction: Political Commitment, Money, and Research.”
Debas, who also served as UCSF Chancellor for a year, is recognized nationally for his leadership and passion for medical education. At UCSF, he is credited with a number of innovations, including reforming the medical school curriculum, establishing a new clinical skills learning center, developing five medical student advisory colleges and creating the Academy of Medical Educators, which will be named for him.
An eminent scholar and enthusiastic teacher, Debas joined UCSF as chair of the Department of Surgery in 1987 and assumed the post of dean in 1993. His conviction that UCSF’s expertise could be focused on improving major health problems in the developing world led to the founding of the Institute for Global Health in 1999. Established by UCSF and UC Berkeley, the institute collaborates internationally to improve health and increase access to effective and affordable health services worldwide.
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NOTE: Reporters interested in attending the symposium should contact Wallace Ravven, UCSF News Services: (415) 502-1332; [email protected]