WASHINGTON – The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced yesterday that Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., a scientist and researcher at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, has been appointed to serve as a member of the NIH Council of Councils.
Hotez is a Distinguished Research Professor at George Washington University, holds the Walter G. Ross Professorship, and serves as Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine at GW’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is also president of Sabin Vaccine Institute, Editor-in-Chief of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, and president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Dr. Hotez said of the appointment, "I'm honored to be joining the esteemed National Institutes of Health Council of Councils and look forward to working with its members to advance public health initiatives, particularly as they relate to needed advances in vaccine research and development."
The Council of Councils, which Congress established in 2006, is composed of 27 individuals who are selected from the NIH’s Institute and Center advisory councils and the Council of Public Representatives. Members of the council provide advice and expertise to the Director of the NIH on cutting edge, trans-NIH priorities and matters related to policies and activities of the NIH’s Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI). The DPCPSI identifies emerging scientific opportunities, rising public health challenges, and scientific knowledge gaps that merit further research.
Hotez is a leading expert on global health issues, particularly in the development of vaccines and in bringing international attention to neglected tropical diseases that confine many people around the world in a state of impoverishment. He has been awarded grants for his research by the NIH and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among other organizations. Hotez’s research papers and articles have been widely published, and he is the recipient of numerous honors for his work to help overcome diseases that affect the world’s poorest people.
