Tommy Thompson, secretary of health and human services, announced on Oct. 3 the creation of an advisory panel on public health preparedness and told reporters it will be chaired by D.A. Henderson, director of JHU's Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies.

D.A. Henderson

Henderson is a Distinguished Service Professor with appointments in the departments of Epidemiology and International Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is credited for leading the World Health Organization's effort to eradicate smallpox, a task completed in 1977. From 1977 to 1990, Henderson was dean of the faculty at the School of Public Health. He later served as senior science adviser in the administration of former President George Bush before returning to Hopkins in 1995.