Question and Answer with Dr. Jean William (Bill) Pape

March - April, 2009 | Volume 8, Issue 2

Dr. Jean William (Bill) Pape - Haiti's top AIDS and infectious disease expert who trained under Fogarty grantee Dr. Warren Johnson - was honored recently in Port-au-Prince.

How do you see Fogarty's role in biomedical research and in global health?

I can say that for us in Haiti, Fogarty has been the cornerstone of the entire program. And it has impacted national mortality in adults and in children. There is no way we would have been where we are now without this program. This program has trained the leaders in our field, who themselves have trained thousands of others.

What has been the value of your Fogarty trainees?

We train them not to do esoteric research. We train them to solve a problem. Fogarty has impacted not only the global number of trainees, but the fact that they focus the trainees on what can be accomplished.

What do you think of the Fogarty model of U.S. institutions working with local partners?

What Fogarty has given us the possibility to do is to use the U.S. institution as the backbone for change to happen. But the change has to happen from the inside - that's the only way that change occurs.

Overall, what has distinguished the Fogarty program from other supporters?

What was most important is the fact that the program itself is flexible enough to adjust to the countries' needs... They are our partners. It's not a monitor that sits there and tells you, well you did a good job or you did a bad job. We are working together. And I think that this is a partnership that has made this so wonderful.

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