Alfred Sommer, dean emeritus of Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public
Health, has been
elected chair of the board of the Albert and Mary Lasker
Foundation, a philanthropy that supports
biomedical research aimed at conquering disease, improving
human health and extending life.
A director of the Lasker Foundation since 2004, Sommer
is best-known internationally for his
long-term research and advocacy supporting the widespread
use of vitamin A to prevent blindness and
child mortality in developing nations.
That work won Sommer recognition as the 1997 winner of
the foundation's Lasker Award for
Clinical Medical Research. Sommer is one of five Johns
Hopkins researchers who have won a
prestigious Lasker Award, which many consider the "American
Nobel." The World Bank has declared
the vitamin A supplementation he pioneered as one of the
most cost-effective of all public health
interventions.
Sommer will succeed James W. Fordyce, who has served
as chair of the Lasker Foundation since
1994.
"It's a special honor to have been asked to do this,
particularly at a time when the foundation is
on the cusp of some very new and exciting ventures, all
designed to power up its ability to promote
medical research," said Sommer, who will serve a three-year
initial term as chair. "I look forward to
working with our energetic new president and our very
committed board on developing new and
innovative approaches to continuing to do what we already
do, but even better."
Maria Freire, president of the Lasker Foundation since
March 1, said, "I am delighted to
welcome Al Sommer as chairman of the Lasker Foundation. A
Lasker Award winner, Al brings a unique
combination of scientific perspective, proven leadership
and managerial experience. His energy and
vision will help guide the foundation into a new and
exciting era in support of medical research with
public health impact."
The New York City-based Lasker Foundation was
established in 1942 by philanthropist and
activist Mary Lasker to increase public support for
research by creating awareness and appreciation
for the achievements of medical science. The annual Lasker
Awards for Medical Research are the
centerpiece of the foundation's activities. More than 300
Lasker Awards have been given out since the
program's inception in 1945. The foundation is widely
credited with inspiring the White House and
Congress to greatly expand federal funding for medical
research, particularly through the National
Institutes of Health.
"Mary Lasker and her foundation are given — and
should be given — a large portion of the credit
for the expansion of the NIH in the 1950s, through the
launching of a citizen-led campaign designed
to improve the health of our nation," Sommer said.
More recently, the foundation has organized symposiums
and forums aimed at tackling difficult
issues in medical research, from the intersection between
business and medical research to the
economic benefits of national investment in research.
Sommer not only plans to continue that tradition of
advocacy but also to expand upon it in new
and groundbreaking ways.
"The fact that the foundation cuts across all branches
of the medical sciences and has a
tradition of innovation puts us in a position to do some
unique things," he said. "Our goal is to continue
to pioneer ways to approach complex medical issues and find
solutions that work."
Johns Hopkins President William R. Brody said he
believes Sommer will make an ideal leader for
the foundation.
"Being elected chairperson of the board of the Lasker
Foundation is a well-deserved recognition
not only of Dr. Sommer's extraordinary contributions to
world health and medical research but also of
his ability to lead the foundation to greater heights in
securing lasting benefits for humanity," Brody
said.
Sommer, who still serves as a professor of
epidemiology,
international health and
ophthalmology
at Johns Hopkins, was dean of Public Health from 1990 to
2005. Previously, he was founding director
of the university's Dana Center for Preventive
Ophthalmology, which focuses on clinical epidemiology
and public health aspects of blindness prevention and child
survival. Sommer earned his medical degree
from Harvard Medical School in 1967 and his master of
health science in epidemiology from Johns
Hopkins in 1973.
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