The Honorable Louis W. Sullivan, former Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will be among the honorees at Research!America’s Advocacy Awards Dinner on March 13, 2019 in Washington, D.C. Dr. Sullivan, chairman of the board of the National Health Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, is internationally known for his efforts to improve the health and health behavior of Americans and raising scholarship funds in the U.S. and South Africa for black health professions students. He will receive the 2019 John Edward Porter Legacy Award, generously supported by Ann Lurie, at the dinner on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 in Washington, D.C. as a part of Research!America’s 30th anniversary commemoration.
“Dr. Sullivan’s extraordinary accomplishments demonstrate his strong commitment to advancing research and public health to benefit individuals worldwide,” said Michael N. Castle, chair, Research!America. “Among his many achievements, he secured significant increases in federal funding for medical and health research, amplified efforts to address health disparities, transformed the health workforce and promoted healthy behaviors.”
Other 2019 Advocacy Award honorees announced today are Dr. Susan Hockfield, President Emerita of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Professor of Neuroscience and a member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, recipient of the Geoffrey Beene Foundation Builders of Science Award; Dr. David R. Williams, Professor of Public Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Professor of African American Studies and Sociology, Harvard University, recipient of the Herbert Pardes Family Award for National Leadership in Advocacy for Research; Denny Sanford, one of the nation’s top health care philanthropists, who has contributed nearly $1 billion to Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, recipient of the Gordon and Llura Gund Leadership Award; and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, recipient of the Paul G. Rogers Distinguished Organization Advocacy Award. Additional honorees will be named in the coming weeks. The annual Research!America Advocacy Awards program was established by the Board of Directors in 1996 to honor outstanding advocates for medical, health and scientific research.
“We are proud to salute the 2019 honorees who, in their own unique way, have contributed to scientific discovery, advanced the field of social sciences, improved care for underserved populations and accelerated research to treat disabling diseases,” said Mary Woolley, president and CEO, Research!America. “Their advocacy for medical and health research is exceptional.”