Nine more medical innovators
Every day, millions of people stand poised between life and death. In this special report, U.S. News joins with Discovery Health Channel to recognize 13 medical innovators who have tipped the balance toward health and life. We've highlighted only four in the preceding pages, but all deserve honors for their work.
MINA BISSELL. Bissell's work with breast-cancer cells shows that they may act differently depending on their biological surroundings, suggesting a possible future strategy for controlling cancerous cells. She was honored by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
PARTNERSHIP FOR A DRUG-FREE AMERICA. This organization and its CEO, Stephen Pasierb (left), mobilized marketing professionals to unsell drugs to teenagers and was hailed by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. Their campaign against the popular drug ecstasy reduced its use among teens.
ANTONIO GRILLO-LOPEZ. Cancer therapies don't easily make the leap from lab to disease-fighting arsenal. The Biotechnology Industry Organization recognizes Grillo-Lopez for his stewardship of more than 25 anticancer agents, including the monoclonal antibody Rituxan.
JOHN KATTWINKEL. Nominated by the American Academy of Pediatrics, neonatologist Kattwinkel and two other doctors reviewed all data on sleep position and SIDS. Since their 1992 conclusion that infants should sleep on their backs, SIDS deaths have dropped more than 50 percent in the United States.
PHOEBE PUTNEY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SYSTEM. The American Hospital Association nominated Phoebe Putney, located in southwest Georgia, and its president, Joel Wernick (left). The innovative healthcare service sponsors community-led programs that provide health screenings and guidance to teen dads.
AMREF. The African Medical and Research Foundation, nominated by Discovery Communications International, began with three plastic surgeons in 1957. They treated burns and later cared for AIDS orphans. The group, headed by Michael Smalley (left), now numbers 600 workers; 97 percent are African.
RAGHAVENDRA MIRMIRA. A nationally recognized pioneer in islet cell research, Mirmira was nominated by the American Diabetes Association. His research is designed to uncover the mechanism that would allow some cells in the pancreas to be genetically reprogrammed into insulin-producing betalike cells.
DAVID SATCHER. Former U.S. Surgeon General Satcher, nominated by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, issued the first major report on the obesity epidemic. Now director of the National Center for Primary Care, he focuses on promoting healthy lifestyles in children and ending disparities in healthcare.
WAYNE BAILEY. This political science professor urged the American Lung Association of Florida to shift its focus from small educational programs to lobbying for stronger legislation. The 1985 Florida Clean Indoor Air Act has improved the health of Floridians' lungs.
This story appears in the July 12, 2004 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.