BALTIMORE, Md., May 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) today announced that Kristin L. Nichol, MD, MPH, MBA, is the first recipient of the Dr. Charles Merieux Award. This new award is presented to individuals with a demonstrated commitment to science-based medicine and research in infectious diseases, proven excellence in clinical and research activities, and dedication to improving public health.
“Dr. Nichol’s decades of work as a clinician, teacher of medicine and research scientist makes her an excellent choice as NFID’s first recipient of the Dr. Charles Merieux Award,” said Stanley A. Plotkin, MD, an NFID board member. “Among her accomplishments are extensive research in behavior and cost-effectiveness in adult vaccination against influenza and pneumococcal disease. Her work has contributed to the development of national and global programs aimed at improving vaccination rates.”
Susan J. Rehm, MD, medical director for NFID, presented the award at a special luncheon during NFID’s Eighth Annual Conference on Vaccine Research (ACVR) being held May 9 - 11, in Baltimore Maryland. The Dr. Charles Merieux Award is made possible by an unrestricted educational grant from sanofi pasteur to NFID. The ACVR is the largest scientific meeting devoted exclusively to research on vaccines and associated technologies for disease prevention and treatment through immunization.
About Kristin L. Nichol, MD, MPH, MBA
Dr. Nichol, Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, is Chief of Medicine and Director of the Primary and Subspecialty Medicine service line at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis. Her work has been published more than 100 times in professional journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of the American Medical Association. She also regularly consults with the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other groups on international influenza prevention and control issues and frequently is asked to participate in national and international conferences, not only to present her research, but also to address broader policy and practice issues.
Dr. Nichol chairs the National Coalition for Adult Immunization Advisory Committee and has served as the Department of Veterans Affairs ex officio member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices since 1993.
“Dr. Nichol’s work in adult immunization has dissolved barriers to vaccination, leading to remarkable improvements in control of vaccine- preventable diseases. It is for this dedication to public health that we present her with the first Dr. Charles Merieux Award,” said Dr. Rehm.
About the Dr. Charles Merieux Award
The award is named in honor of Dr. Charles Merieux, a French humanist and entrepreneur who devoted his life to the prevention of infectious diseases. He continued the work initiated by his father, a former student and assistant of Louis Pasteur and Emile Roux.
At age 30, Charles Merieux took over the family laboratory founded by his father in 1897, which produced a few vaccines and sera, and turned it into an important vaccine-producing firm, successfully leading the transition to the industrial production of human and veterinary vaccines - “from glass bottle to steel vats.” What was once a family laboratory is now one of the leading vaccine manufacturers in the world, sanofi pasteur.
The work and vision of Dr. Charles Merieux laid important foundations for the vaccine industry and the worldwide struggle to control and eliminate infectious diseases through immunization.
About NFID and the Eighth Annual Conference on Vaccine Research
Founded in 1973, NFID is a non-profit organization dedicated to public and professional educational programs about infectious diseases. NFID’s Annual Conference on Vaccine Research has become the largest scientific meeting devoted exclusively to research on vaccines and associated technologies for disease prevention and treatment through immunization.
The NFID conference is being held in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research of the Food and Drug Administration, Center for Vaccine Development of the University of Maryland, Fondation Merieux, International Society for Vaccines, International Vaccine Institute, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, The Netherlands Vaccine Institute, Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute, United States Department of Agriculture and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Contact: Mary K. Moore, 212-886-2206
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
CONTACT: Mary K. Moore, +1-212-886-2206, for National Foundation forInfectious Diseases