Stop TB Partnership

Union honours distinguished contributions to the fight against TB and lung disease

17 November - Kuala Lumpur - From the Young Investigator Prize for a researcher under 35 years of age to Honorary Memberships recognising a lifetime of service, The Union honoured distinguished contributions to the fight against tuberculosis (TB) and lung disease at its 43rd conference.

The 2012 award winners are as follows:

The Union Young Investigator Prize: David Dowdy (USA)

The Union Young Investigator Prize was established in 2011. It acknowledges a researcher for work on TB or lung health published in the past five years, when 35 years and younger.

The Union Young Investigator Prize was given to Dr David Dowdy, an epidemiologist and practicing general internist whose primary body of work involves modelling the impact and cost-effectiveness of diagnostic interventions for TB, with a particular focus on developing methods for practical tools that can be utilized by decision-makers. Since 2011, his published modelling and economic work has included analyses of serological tests, TB transmission and point-of-care diagnostic testing. He was recently named to the steering committee of the TB Modelling and Analysis Consortium, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He also serves as the director of the modelling core for the TB Clinical Diagnostics Research Consortium and is the Principal Investigator on a National Institutes of Health grant related to developing new models for TB diagnostics. Dr Dowdy has authored or co-authored over 35 publications and is also already an accomplished teacher and mentor, in addition to awardee for professionalism and community service.

The Union Scientific Prize: Richard Menzies (Canada)

The Union Scientific Prize acknowledges researchers at any stage of their career for work on TB or lung health published in the past five years.

Dr Dick Menzies received The Union Scientific Prize for his long history of involvement in TB care and research, beginning with his years in Lesotho. He has developed a TB research programme of clinical and epidemiologic studies linked with a large multi-disciplinary clinical service at the Montreal Chest Institute and with a group of other Montreal researchers with diverse interests and expertise in TB. He collaborates closely with the Public Health Unit of Montreal and Immigration Canada. Dr Menzies has also been involved as a consultant to national TB programmes in the Dominican Republic, Guyana and Ecuador, the Pan-American Health Organization and WHO. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers and 25 book chapters, and is editor of the latest edition of the Canadian TB Standards. Dr Menzies is known to many as a mentor and teacher all over the world and will assuredly continue this role in future years.

The Karel Styblo Public Health Prize: Karin Weyer (South Africa)

The Karel Styblo Public Health Prize acknowledges a health worker (physician or lay-person) or a community organization for contributions to TB control or lung health over a period of 10 years or more.

Dr Karin Weyer was selected as the winner of the Karel Styblo Public Health Prize because of the global impact of her technical, managerial, and programmatic expertise. She is currently the Coordinator of Laboratories, Diagnostics and Drug Resistance at the WHO Stop TB Department in Geneva, Switzerland, where she directs a multidisciplinary team responsible for developing new policies on TB diagnostics and laboratory procedures, norms and standards; as well as new policies and strategies for universal access to diagnosis, care and treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB. Prior to joining WHO, Dr Weyer's career spanned 25 years of TB research at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), where she covered a broad spectrum of research activities and managed several national projects on drug-resistant and HIV-associated TB, as well as the SAMRC biosafety level three animal research and mycobacterial laboratories.

Honorary Members of The Union

Honorary membership is a lifetime award, through which The Union recognises colleagues for their distinguished contributions to the fight against TB and lung disease. As Honorary Members, they use their wisdom and experience to help to guide The Union in its mission.

Two new Honorary Members were named at the 2012 General Assembly of The Union:

Prof Asma El Sony (Sudan)

Asma El Sony was born and raised in Sudan. After her medical training, she worked in the UK at several trauma units and was part of the Woodruff Team of Tropical Medicine. She has worked for Sudan Federal Ministry of Health as a pneumonologist for many years. As Director of the National TB Programme, she and her team managed to reach 100% DOTS coverage in 2002.

Prof El Sony is also the founder and director of The Epidemiological Laboratory, a Union and WHO collaborating centre and national public health research institute in Sudan. She has served as a consultant and technical expert for the WHO, The Union, the Norwegian Heart and Lung Patients Association (LHL) and many other agencies. Long active in The Union, she most recently served terms as President and Past President of the Board of Directors.

Dr Richard O’Brien (USA)

Dr Richard O’Brien served as Chief of the Clinical Research Branch of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Division of TB Elimination from 1982 to 1991. He was then seconded to the WHO until 1996 to re-establish and head TB research. Following his return to the CDC he oversaw the establishment of the TB Trials Consortium for therapy trials of new TB drugs and expanded research on new TB diagnostics.

In January 2004, Dr O’Brien joined FIND (Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics) as Head of Product Evaluation and Demonstration. In May 2010, he also received prestigious ATS World Lung Health Award.