People in the global health news - August 2020

Dr. Francis S. Collins wins Templeton Prize

NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins is the recipient of the 2020 Templeton Prize, awarded in recognition of his scientific leadership, public speaking and writing, including his 2006 book, The Language of God. His work has demonstrated how religious faith can inspire and motivate scientific research, according to Templeton philanthropies.

NIH selects Dr. Rick Woychik to direct environmental sciences

Dr. Rick Woychik is the new director of the NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). He served as deputy director since 2010 and was appointed acting director in late 2019. Previously he spent a decade running the Jackson Laboratory in Maine, where he established the genetics science division.

Dr. Shannon N. Zenk to lead NIH nursing research institute

Dr. Shannon N. Zenk was recently tapped to become director of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). Zenk has been a visiting scholar in Rwanda and Australia and was inducted into the International Nurse Researchers Hall of Fame in 2019. She is currently a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Global community mourns Dr. Kirk R. Smith

Former Fogarty grantee Dr. Kirk R. Smith died in June. He was a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and director of the Collaborative Clean Air Policy Centre in New Delhi. He shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize and served on numerous national and international scientific advisory committees.

• Editorial: Kirk R Smith: a life’s work on improving air quality
  Bulletin of the World Health Organization, August 2020
• Kirk R. Smith, Nobel Prize recipient and environmental health giant, dies at 73
  University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health news, June 18, 2020
• Clean Air for Everyone, Everywhere: Professor Kirk R. Smith 1947-2020
  Collaborative Clean Air Policy Centre, June 2020

Senate confirms Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan as NSF director

Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan was recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate as director of the National Science Foundation (NSF). He previously was executive vice president of Arizona State University’s (ASU) Knowledge Enterprise, and s ASU’s chief research and information officer. During his time at ASU, he helped elevate the university’s research profile.

Virologist Dr. Flossie Wong-Staal known for first HIV cloning dies

Molecular virologist Dr. Flossie Wong-Staal, formerly a Fogarty grantee, died in July. In 1973, Wong-Staal became a fellow at the NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI). She was best known as the first person to clone HIV. In 1990, she joined the University of California San Diego to launch its AIDS research center.