William Foege

William H. Foege
Born	March 12, 1936 Decorah, Iowa
Residence	USA
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Pacific Lutheran University (BA) University of Washington (MD) Harvard School of Public Health (MPH)
Occupation	Physician Epidemiologist
Employer	Centers for Disease Control
Spouse(s)	Paula Foege

William Herbert Foege^[1] M.D., M.P.H. (/ˈfeɪɡiː/;^[2] born 1936 in Decorah, Iowa^[3]) is an American epidemiologist who is credited with "devising the global strategy that led to the eradication of smallpox in the late 1970s".^[4]

Foege also "played a central role" in efforts that greatly increased immunization rates in developing countries in the 1980s.^[5]

In June 2011, he authored House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox, a book on modern science, medicine, and public health over the smallpox disease.^[6]

Early life

Foege was born March 12 1936 in Decorah, Iowa. He was the third of six children born to William A. Foege, a Lutheran minister, and Anne Erika Foege.^[7] The family lived in Eldorado, Iowa in Fayette County, starting in 1936 and moved to Chewelah, Washington, in 1945.^[7]

In his younger days he was inspired by the life of his uncle, a Lutheran missionary to New Guinea.^[5] He became interested in science at age 13 when working at a pharmacy, and read extensively about the world (e.g., Albert Schweitzer's work in Africa) while in a body cast for several months at age 15.^[8] When a teenager he expressed a desire to practice medicine in Africa.^[5]

Education

Foege received a B.A. from Pacific Lutheran University in 1957.^[9] He attended medical school at the University of Washington, where he became interested in public health while working "after school and on Saturdays" at the Seattle–King County Health Department.^[8] After receiving his M.D. in 1961, he completed an internship with the United States Public Health Service hospital at Staten Island in 1961–1962.

He participated in the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 1962 and 1964, assigned to Colorado.^[10][11] When Foege was with the EIS, he was inspired by Alexander Langmuir to pursue global health, and spent a short time with the Peace Corps in India under Charles Snead Houston. Upon reading a lecture on priorities in public health by Thomas Huckle Weller,^[12] Foege entered the Master of Public Health program at the Harvard School of Public Health where he studied with Weller.^[8] He received his M.P.H. in 1965.^[9]

Career

Foege's research includes child survival and development, injury prevention, population, preventive medicine, and public health leadership—particularly in the developing world. He is a strong proponent of disease eradication and control and has taken an active role in the eradication of Guinea Worm Disease, polio and measles, and the elimination of river blindness.^[13]

He has held various positions during his career:

• Director, Centers for Disease Control, 1977–1983
• Senior Fellow, Global Health Program, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation^[14]
• Advisory Board Member, Emory University Global Health Institute^[15]
• Professor Emeritus, Rollins School of Public Health^[16]
• Health Policy Fellow, The Carter Center, 1986–present^[17]
• Executive Director, The Carter Center, 1986–1992^[17]
• Advisory Medical Board Member, Theranos^[18]

Personal life

Also known as "Bill Foege," he is noted for his height of 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m).^[4][19] Foege and his wife Paula had three sons, the eldest of whom died in 2007.^[20] He has been described as a "religious man";^[21][22] between 1997 and 2006 he served on the Board of Regents of Pacific Lutheran University.^[23][24]

Awards and honors

• Abraham Lilienfeld Award, American College of Epidemiology, 1990^[25]
• Fries Prize for Improving Health, James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation (formerly known as the Healthtrac Foundation), 1992^[26]
• Sedgwick Memorial Medal, American Public Health Association, 1993^[27]
• Frank A. Calderone Prize, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, 1996^[28]
• Honorary Doctor of Science, Harvard University, 1997^[1]
• Honorary Fellow, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 1997–present^[15][29]
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Pacific Lutheran University, 2000^[30]
• Wittenberg Award, The Luther Institute, 2001^[31]
• Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service, 2001^[32]
• C.-E. A. Winslow Medal, Yale University, 2004^[33]
• Thomas Francis, Jr. Medal in Global Public Health, University of Michigan, 2005^[34]
• Public Welfare Medal, United States National Academy of Sciences, 2005^[3]
• Honorary Doctor of Medical Sciences, Yale University, 2005^[35]
• Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal, Sabin Vaccine Institute, 2006^[36]
• Julius B. Richmond Award, Harvard School of Public Health, 2006^[37]
• The William H. Foege building, named in his honor and dedicated in 2006, houses the University of Washington School of Medicine's Departments of Bioengineering and Genome Sciences.^[4]
• Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Award for Humanitarian Contributions to the Health of Humankind, National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, 2007^[38]
• Chosen as one of "America's Best Leaders" by U.S. News & World Report, 2007^[5]
• Raymond and Beverly Sackler Award for Sustained National Leadership, Research!America, 2008^[39]
• CDC Foundation Hero Award, 2009^[40]
• Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at the Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012^[41]
• Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2012^[42]
• Richard and Barbara Hansen Leadership Award, University of Iowa College of Public Health, 2014^[43]

Selected publications

Books and book chapters

• Foege WH, Amler RW (1987). "Introduction and methods". In Amler RW, Dull HB. Closing the gap: the burden of unnecessary illness. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-505483-0. OCLC 16755579.
• Foege WH. "Foreword." In: Albert Schweitzer (1998). The primeval forest. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press in association with The Albert Schweitzer Institute for the Humanities. ISBN 0-8018-5958-1. OCLC 38925138.
• Ross DA, Hinman AR, Saarlas K, Foege WH (2003). "Foreword". In O'Carroll PW; et al. Public health informatics and information systems. Berlin: Springer. pp. v–vii. ISBN 0-387-95474-0. OCLC 133157982.
• Foege WH; et al., eds. (2005). Global health leadership and management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 0-7879-7153-7. OCLC 57579300.
• Foege WH (June 2011). House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-26836-4.

Journal articles

• Foege WH, Millar JD, Lane JM (October 1971). "Selective epidemiologic control in smallpox eradication". Am J Epidemiol 94 (4): 311–5. PMID 5110547.
• Foster SO, Brink EW, Hutchins DL, Pifer JM, Lourie B, Moser CR, Cummings EC, Kuteyi OE, Eke RE, Titus JB, Smith EA, Hicks JW, Foege WH (1972). "Human monkeypox". Bull World Health Organ 46 (5): 569–76. PMC 2480784. PMID 4340216.
• Ruben FL, Smith EA, Foster SO, Casey HL, Pifer JM, Wallace RB, Atta AI, Jones WL, Arnold RB, Teller BE, Shaikh ZQ, Lourie B, Eddins DL, Doko SM, Foege WH (1973). "Simultaneous administration of smallpox, measles, yellow fever, and diphtheria—pertussis—tetanus antigens to Nigerian children". Bull World Health Organ 48 (2): 175–81. PMC 2481001. PMID 4541683.
• Henderson RH, Davis H, Eddins DL, Foege WH (1973). "Assessment of vaccination coverage, vaccination scar rates, and smallpox scarring in five areas of West Africa". Bull World Health Organ 48 (2): 183–94. PMC 2481004. PMID 4541684.
• Foege WH, Millar JD, Henderson DA (1975). "Smallpox eradication in West and Central Africa". Bull World Health Organ 52 (2): 209–22. PMC 2366358. PMID 1083309.
• Ravenholt RT, Foege WH (October 1982). "1918 influenza, encephalitis lethargica, parkinsonism". Lancet 2 (8303): 860–4. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(82)90820-0. PMID 6126720.
• Foege WH, Amler RW, White CC (September 1985). "Closing the gap. Report of the Carter Center Health Policy Consultation". JAMA 254 (10): 1355–8. doi:10.1001/jama.254.10.1355. PMID 4021014.
• Hinman AR, Foege WH, de Quadros CA, Patriarca PA, Orenstein WA, Brink EW (1987). "The case for global eradication of poliomyelitis". Bull World Health Organ 65 (6): 835–40. PMC 2491079. PMID 3501736.
• McGinnis JM, Foege WH (November 1993). "Actual causes of death in the United States". JAMA 270 (18): 2207–12. doi:10.1001/jama.270.18.2207. PMID 8411605.
• McGinnis JM, Foege WH (Mar–Apr 1999). "Mortality and morbidity attributable to use of addictive substances in the United States". Proc Assoc Am Physicians 111 (2): 109–18. doi:10.1046/j.1525-1381.1999.09256.x. PMID 10220805.
• Foege W (April 2002). "Keynote address: issues in overcoming iron deficiency". J Nutr 132 (4 Suppl): 790S–3S. PMID 11925483.
• Foege WH (March 5, 2003). "Holding our breath". MedGenMed 5 (1): 11. PMID 12827072.
• Foege WH (December 18, 2003). "Polio and policy options". MedGenMed 5 (4): 34. PMID 14745381.
• McGinnis JM, Foege WH (March 2004). "The immediate vs the important". JAMA 291 (10): 1263–4. doi:10.1001/jama.291.10.1263. PMID 15010451.
• Foege WH (Winter 2004). "Redefining public health". J Law Med Ethics 32 (4 Suppl): 23–6. doi:10.1111/j.1748-720X.2004.tb00178.x. PMID 15807317.

References

1. The Crimson Staff (June 5, 1997). "Eleven granted honorary degrees". The Harvard Crimson.
2. Hagen R (May 8, 2006). "Say how? A pronunciation guide to names of public figures". National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
3. "William H. Foege to receive Public Welfare Medal, Academy's highest honor". National Academy of Sciences. January 26, 2005. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
4. Paulson T (March 9, 2006). "Carter hails UW's shy hero Foege. New building named for health leader is dedicated". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
5. Kim JY (November 12, 2007). "America's best leaders. William H. Foege, physician. A lifelong battle against disease". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
6. "President Obama honors William Foege, Emory professor emeritus, with prestigious award". Woodruff Health Sciences Center. May 29, 2012.
7. Maynard S (October 7, 1998). "Families that work – an occasional series: Rev. William A. Foege's family never had much money, and never felt deprived". The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington).
8. Foege WH (October 2001). "The wonder that is global health" (PDF). Nat Med 7 (10): 1095–6. doi:10.1038/nm1001-1095. PMID 11590422.
9. "William Foege, Affiliate Professor, Epidemiology". University of Washington School of Public Health. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
10. "William H. Foege, MD, MPH, assumes APHA presidency" (PDF). Am J Public Health 76 (2): 208. 1986. doi:10.2105/AJPH.76.2.124.
11. Graham K, Heys S (December 12, 1985). "A global vision to save millions – William Foege wants all world's children immunized by 1990". The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution.
12. Weller TH (September 1963). "Questions of priority". N Engl J Med 269 (13): 673–8. doi:10.1056/NEJM196309262691306. PMID 14050972.
13. http://depts.washington.edu/epidem/fac/facBio.shtml?Foege_William
14. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "William Foege, M.D., M.P.H". Retrieved September 26, 2009.
15. Emory University. "Emory Global Health Institute Advisory Board. William H. Foege, MD, MPH". Retrieved September 26, 2009.
16. Rollins School of Public Health. "William H. Foege". Retrieved September 26, 2009.
17. The Carter Center. "William Foege, M.D., M.P.H". Retrieved September 26, 2009.
18. Parloff, Roger (7 April 2016). "Theranos Adds Startlingly Well-Qualified Medical Board". Fortune. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
19. Holohan M (July 2006). "Bill Foege: Another mountain to climb". Lens: A New Way of Looking at Science. Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
20. Paulson T (April 28, 2007). "David Foege, 1962–2007: Vashon mourns teacher's death". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
21. Preston R (2003). The demon in the freezer. New York: Random House. p. 74. ISBN 0-345-46663-2.
22. Panem S (1988). The AIDS bureaucracy. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. p. 33. ISBN 0-674-01271-2.
23. "Board news". Pacific Lutheran Scene. Summer 1998. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
24. "Commencement moved venues, accomplished alum spoke". Pacific Lutheran University. May 17, 2006. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
25. "Past Lilienfeld Awardees". American College of Epidemiology. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
26. "Fries Prize for Improving Health recipients". James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
27. "Sedgwick Memorial Medal". American Public Health Association. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
28. "Calderone prize. Past award recipients". Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
29. "Research Report 1998" (PDF). London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 7, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
30. "Foege receives honorary doctorate, exhorts Class of 2000". Pacific Lutheran University Scene. Summer 2000.
31. "2001 Wittenberg Award recipient Dr. William Foege". The Luther Institute. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
32. Strauss E (2001). "Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service. Award description. William Foege". Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
33. "C-E.A. Winslow Medal presented to William H. Foege October 28". Yale University. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
34. "The Thomas Francis, Jr. Medal in Global Public Health. The 50th anniversary program – April 12, 2005". University of Michigan. April 12, 2005. Archived from the original on October 1, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
35. "Honorary degrees". Yale Bulletin & Calendar. June 10, 2005.
36. "Gold Medal Award". Sabin Vaccine Institute. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
37. Kabak V (November 1, 2006). "Public health school bestows top honor". The Harvard Crimson.
38. "Awards". National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
39. "William H. Foege to receive Research!America Advocacy Award". Research!America. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
40. "CDC Foundation events". Retrieved September 30, 2009.
41. "Ivan Allen, Jr. Prize Recipients". Retrieved March 16, 2012.
42. "President Obama Names Presidential Medal Freedom Recipients". Retrieved April 30, 2012.
43. "Richard and Barbara Hansen Leadership Award and Distinguished Lecture". Retrieved October 24, 2012.

External links

• Bill Foege Oral History (interview by Victoria Harden, July 13, 2006; part of the Global Health Chronicles site).