Distinguished Alumnus Award 2012

2012 Recipients

H. Garrett Adams, SPH '83
Dr. Garrett Adams is president of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), a single-issue organization advocating for a universal, comprehensive, single-payer national health program. PNHP has more than 18,000 members and chapters across the United States. Dr. Adams is also the founder of the Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic, a comprehensive ambulatory clinic in the underserved community of Beersheba Springs, Tennessee. In September 2011, Dr. Adams testified to Congress about the plight of some of his patients at the Clinic. He described the people he knew personally, saying there is a cycle in which poverty can be a death sentence and illness can be a poverty sentence. He told lawmakers that health care options for younger Americans and the working poor are limited, and when they do find care, it can be too late. He gave the example of Clay Morgan, an automobile mechanic in Henry County, Kentucky who owned his own business. He got malignant melanoma (a form of cancer), was treated, improved, and thought to be cured, but became bankrupt in the process. Cancer returned. “Depressed, and unwilling to bring more medical debt on his family, Clay went into the backyard and took his own life," Adams said. Dr. Adams is retired from full-time faculty at the University of Louisville, School of Medicine where he was Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Medical Director of Communicable Diseases at the Louisville Metro Health Department in Louisville, KY. Top

Walter G. Amprey, Ed '77
Dr. Walter Amprey served as Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Baltimore City Public Schools from 1991-1997. He is credited with developing innovative programs that involve the effective use of business and private industry to improve the operations and effectiveness of schools. Walter is well known and highly regarded throughout the nation as an expert in the area of urban education. In addition to his local legacy, Walter has made significant contributions to national education reform in his service as the former National Vice President for the Urban Education of National School Conference Institute, the President of the Large City Schools Superintendents of the U.S. and Canada, and the Director of the National Center for Education Research & Technology (NCERT). In the year 2000, he formed his own educational consulting firm, Amprey & Associates, and currently acts as the President/CEO. Walter earned both his Bachelor of Art and Master of Science degrees from Morgan State University, where he studied Elementary and Secondary Education and History and Social Science. In 1977, he earned his second Master's degree, a Master of Science in Educational Administration and Supervision from the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, and then completed his Doctorate in Urban Education at Temple University. His passion is identifying real solutions for superintendents and school systems that are genuinely interested in significantly improving the instructional delivery and efficient business management of school districts. Top

Seymour Baron, Engr '44, '47
Dr. Seymour Baron has had a distinguished career in industry, in government, and in research. Dr. Baron joined Burns and Roe, a 200 employee architectural engineering company, in 1950, as a new Ph.D. in the position of process engineer; and was instrumental in the company's expansion to 3000 employees. He was appointed Vice President of Engineering in 1964, and was named Vice President of the Company's Breeder Reactor Division in 1973.

In 1984, Dr. Baron left Burns and Roe as a Senior Corporate Vice President to join the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory as Associate Director for Applied Programs. After 10 years with the Laboratory in various positions, Dr. Baron was recruited to the Medical University of South Carolina to oversee the Special Programs Office and continued his research on nuclear energy and medical isotopes. Dr. Barons' team studied the economic feasibility of building a linear accelerator for producing much needed medical isotopes for diagnosis and treatment; and also for disposing nuclear wastes from long half life to short half life for safe storage.

Dr. Baron holds Ph.D. from Columbia University in Chemical Engineering. He is a member of the highly esteemed National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Baron is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Nuclear Society. He is a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers and served on their Three Mile Island Review Committee. He was a commissioner of the New Jersey Commission on Radiation Protection. Dr. Baron also served on the Board of Trustees of the Argonne Universities Association for seven years. Top

Gerald P. Bodey, Med '60, '62 (HS)
Dr. Bodey worked under internationally renowned physician Emil Freireich, the “father of clinical cancer research” who helped discover the cure for childhood leukemia. He followed Freireich to the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) in 1966, where Bodey remained until he retired in 2004. During that time, he made many contributions to the field of cancer research. Recently, Annals of Internal Medicine named a paper he co-authored in 1966 as one of the three most important studies on infectious diseases ever published in the journal. This study helped to improve the management of infections in leukemic patients. Dr. Bodey served as MDACC’s first Chief of Infectious Diseases and Chief of the Cancer Chemotherapy Branch in the Department of Developmental Therapeutics, where he supervised studies of more than 30 new anti-tumor agents. Later, he founded the Section of Infectious Diseases and was appointed the first Director of the Office of Protocol Research. In 1987, Dr. Bodey was named Chairman of the Department of Medical Specialties, a post he held until he retired in 1995. Among Dr. Bodey’s more than 40 honors and awards from national and international organizations are the Service to Mankind Award from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America and listings in 200 Most Outstanding Scientists of the 20th and 21st Centuries. Named awards at MDACC include the Gerald P. Bodey Immunocompromised Host Fellowship Training Award, the Gerald P. Bodey Sr. Distinguished Professorship, and the Gerald P. Bodey Award for Excellence in Education, Division of Medical Oncology. Top

Phillips P. Bradford, Engr '62
After receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins in 1962, Dr. Phillips Bradford went on to receive his Master’s from the University of Virginia and a Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) from Columbia University. Dr. Bradford spent more than 34 years in management roles in state government, academia, research and product development, and financial and investment analysis. He served for 10 years as the Executive Director of the Colorado Advanced Technology Institute (CATI), which was created by the Colorado Legislature as the state's science and technology development agency to foster research excellence, technology transfer, and technology based business formations within the state. Dr. Bradford has received numerous honors and awards for his work with CATI and other organizations. He has published numerous technical and non-technical articles on financial and managerial topics. Currently, Dr. Bradford is President and CEO of Sunrise Ventures, Inc., and also serves as Adjunct Instructor at the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. and Mrs. Bradford have endowed the Phillips and Camille Bradford Fellowship at the Whiting School in support of graduate education. Top

Chi Van Dang, Med '82, '85 (HS)
Dr. Dang, renowned cancer biologist and hematologist-oncologist, is director of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to this position, Dr. Dang was a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the Departments of Medicine, Cell Biology, Oncology, Pathology, and Molecular Biology & Genetics. He was also Executive Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering and Vice Dean for Research, overseeing research administration, policy coordination, and technology transfer. Dr. Dang contributed to the understanding of the function of the MYC cancer gene, which has emerged as a gene switch in many different human cancers. Most recently, he became the principal investigator for Johns Hopkins in a Stand Up to Cancer grant awarded to Penn Medicine to investigate how to "cut off the fuel supply" for pancreatic cancer. He also holds grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to study MYC function, hypoxia, and the development of novel cancer therapeutics that target metabolism. Dr. Dang has received the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute MERIT Award and numerous other accolades. He has sponsored 10 NIH physician-scientist awardees and mentored more than a dozen Ph.D. candidates, as well as dozens of postdoctoral fellows. In 2005, in honor of his achievements and the fact that he is the world’s highest ranking physician of Vietnamese descent in academic medicine, the Vietnamese American National Gala gave him its Golden Torch Award for medicine and education. Top

Roger C. Faxon, A&S '71
Since earning his BA at the School of Arts and Sciences in 1971, Roger Faxon has become a leader in the entertainment industry. Among his many career accomplishments, he previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for LUCASFILM Ltd, where he guided the company’s financial and operational affairs, overseeing production of such blockbuster films as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Since 1994, he has been with EMI, where he currently serves as CEO of EMI Group, as well as Chairman and CEO of both EMI Music and EMI Music Publishing. In recent months, Mr. Faxon has led the successful sale of EMI’s recorded-music division to Universal and is negotiating the publishing division's anticipated sale to Sony. In May 2011, Forbes magazine ran an article entitled, “Names You Need to Know: Roger Faxon,” applauding his unconventional responses to the many challenges the music industry faces in the digital age. They recognized his leadership in convincing more EMI artists to embrace the role played by big digital distributors of music, like Apple, as well as his success in securing artist agreement to digital marketing plans that utilize user-generated content to allow fans to make their own creative contributions to music. Mr. Faxon’s extraordinary contributions to the entertainment industry have brought prestige to Johns Hopkins. Top

Gary S. Firestein, Med '80
Dr. Firestein is Dean and Associate Vice Chancellor of Translational Medicine at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). He has been Director of the UCSD Clinical and Translational Research Institute since 2003. Dr. Firestein joined the faculty at the UCSD School of Medicine as Assistant Professor of Medicine in 1988. Four years later, he was recruited by Gensia, Inc. to be the Director of Immunology, where he supervised drug discovery efforts focusing on the potential role of purines (an organic compound found in all of the body’s cells) in inflammation. In 1996, he returned to UCSD and served as Chief of the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology for 12 years. Dr. Firestein’s research interest has focused on the molecular pathways involved in, and the treatment of, rheumatoid arthritis joint destruction. He was among the first to map the synovial cytokine profile of rheumatoid arthritis and demonstrate the dominance of macrophage and fibroblast products. These studies played a pivotal role in the development of highly effective drugs that reduce inflammation and stop disease progression, as well as the development of other approaches to treatment. In 1998, Dr. Firestein received the prestigious Carol-Nachman Prize, an international award given for outstanding contributions to rheumatology research. In 2006 and 2009, he received the Arthritis Foundation’s Lee C. Howley Sr. Prize for Arthritis Research and the American College of Rheumatology Distinguished Investigator Award respectively. Dr. Firestein received the Arthritis Foundation’s Jane Wyman Humanitarian Award in 2010 for contributions to rheumatology. Top

Freda C. Lewis-Hall, A&S '76
Since earning her BA from the School of Arts and Sciences in 1976, Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall has been a pioneering leader in medicine. She has served in leadership positions at the National Institute of Mental Health and at the Howard University College of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, where she served as Vice Chairperson and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry from 1988 to 1994. Dr. Lewis-Hall currently serves as Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President at Pfizer, Inc. As the senior physician and a member of Pfizer’s Executive Leadership Team, she directs a $600 million annual budget and leads Pfizer Medical, the division encompassing Worldwide Regulatory Strategy, Worldwide Safety Strategy, Clinical Trials Excellence, Worldwide Safety & Regulatory Operations, External Medical Communications, External Medical Affairs, Regulatory Compliance, Quality Assurance, and the Center for Medical Advancement. Dr. Lewis-Hall is a Fellow of the American Academy of Psychiatry. She serves on a host of boards including: Harvard School of Medicine Board of Fellows, New York Academy of Medicine, the Society of Women’s Health Research, and the Foundation of the National Institutes of Health. In 2010, Dr. Lewis-Hall was selected as one of the 25 Most Influential African-Americans in healthcare. In 2011, she was honored as Woman of the Year by the Healthcare Business Women’s Association. She is the author of numerous journal articles and a book. Top

Donna H. McCree, SPH '87, '97 (PhD)
Reason for Nomination: Donna Hubbard McCree, Ph.D., MPH, RPh is the Associate Director for Health Equity, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP), National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. Her training and expertise are in developing and conducting STD/HIV behavioral interventions. At the CDC, McCree’s work includes projects focused on HIV testing strategies for African American women and men who have sex with men (MSM) and on behavioral interventions for heterosexually active African American men. Her writing has resulted in over 90 peer-reviewed publications and presentations at both international and national scientific meetings. McCree was guest editor for a June 2009 theme issue of the American Journal of Public Health that focused on intervention strategies for HIV and AIDS prevention among African Americans. She is also lead co-editor of a book focused on HIV in African American communities, African Americans and HIV: Understanding and Addressing the Epidemic (2010, Springer). Prior to working at the CDC, Dr. Hubbard McCree was Team Leader/Behavioral Scientist, Intervention Research Team, Prevention Research Branch, DHAP, NCHHSTP from 2005 to 2010, where she led a 22-member multidisciplinary group of scientists, including postdoctoral fellows and Commissioned Corp Officers charged with using epidemiological and surveillance data to develop, conduct, and evaluate the efficacy of new and previously untested behavioral interventions for populations most at risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV. She was also a Behavioral Scientist and Fellow in the Division of STD Prevention, Behavioral Interventions and Research Branch, NCHHSTP, CDC from 2001 to 2005. Top

John E. McLaughlin, SAID Bol '66, SAIS '66
John McLaughlin, former Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is currently recognized for his outstanding teaching, has been conferred the title of Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, and is a key volunteer across many SAIS divisions including Career Services, Admissions, and Alumni Relations. His course “American Intelligence: Its Role, Practice and Impact” was so well received that he now teaches two sessions per semester. When not in the classroom, he offers career advice to students in Strategic Studies and runs a year-long series of talks bringing experienced senior practitioners to SAIS to convey to students practical knowledge about how to succeed in Washington. John has continually served as an advocate for SAIS and speaks each year for the Office of Admissions’ “open house” career panel, often concluding his inspiring speeches by offering to demonstrate his rather unusual talent as a magician, to the delight of our prospective student audience. John is a treasured member of our SAIS community: a wonderful teacher, a generous mentor to SAIS students and alumni, and a frequent speaker on behalf of the university and SAIS. John has given lectures to alumni on several occasions, most notably in New York and Washington, D.C., that entertained and fascinated the audience with incredible stories that explained the government’s inner workings and shared his reflections on the fall of the Berlin Wall. John was uniquely qualified to give this talk, considering his distinguished career at the CIA, which spanned more than 30 years and started in 1972 with a focus on European, Russian, and Eurasian issues in the Directorate of Intelligence. He later became Director of European Analysis and Director of Slavic and Eurasian Analysis. While Deputy Director for Intelligence from 1997 to 2000, he created the Senior Analytic Service, a CIA career track that enables analysts to rise to senior rank. He also founded the Sherman Kent School for Intelligence Analysis, an institution dedicated to teaching the history, mission, and essential skills of the analytic profession to new CIA employees. In addition to earning his Master’s Degree in International Relations from SAIS, he received a Bachelor’s Degree from Wittenberg University. Top

Margaret E. O'Kane, SPH '80
Reason for Nomination: Margaret O’Kane is the President and Founder of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of health care everywhere. Under her leadership, NCQA has developed broad support among the consumer, employer, and health plan communities. In recent years, NCQA has received awards from the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Pharmacists’ Association. NCQA has 200 employees and a $30 million budget. Ms. O’Kane plays a key role in many efforts to improve health care quality, and recently, Modern Healthcare ranked her as one of the 100 most influential people in health care today. In 2009, she was awarded the Picker Institute Individual Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Patient-Centered Care. In 2000, Ms. O’Kane received the Centers for Disease Control’s Champion of Prevention award, the agency’s highest honor. In 1999, Ms. O’Kane was elected as a member of the Institute of Medicine. Ms. O’Kane was named Health Person of the Year in 1996 by the journal Medicine & Health. She also received a 1997 Founder’s Award from the American College of Medical Quality. NCQA has served as a frequent internship site for many of JHSPH’s Masters of Health Administration students. Ms. O’Kane has attended and spoken at the annual meeting of the MHA alumni multiple times, inspiring the next generation of health leaders. Top

Carol A. Quirk, Ed '88 (EdD)
Dr. Quirk received her Doctor of Education from the Johns Hopkins School of Education in 1988. She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of the non-profit corporation Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education. Dr. Quirk is the former Executive Director of East Baltimore Resources, an adult service agency that provides employment opportunities to adults with disabilities, as well as a former Early Intervention and Behavior Specialist and Consultant for the School District of Philadelphia. She is the recipient of the top 100 Minority/Women Business Entrepreneurs Award for the Maryland-Virginia-District of Columbia region. In May 2011, Dr. Quirk was appointed to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Carol was selected for her contributions to the field of intellectual disability. The committee advises the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on quality-of-life issues for people with intellectual disabilities and on ways to promote the full participation of people with disabilities in their communities. Top

Cavan M. Redmond, Bus '87 (MAS)
Cavan Redmond earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and then graduated from the Carey Business School in 1987 with an MS in Administrative Science degree. He also earned a post-graduate fellowship in organizational change management from Johns Hopkins. He is currently the Group President of Animal Health, Consumer Healthcare, and Capsugel for Pfizer, which represents three of the nine diverse health care businesses in the Pfizer portfolio. He also leads Pfizer’s enterprise-wide Strategy Portfolio Management and Analysis, as well as Continuous Improvement efforts, and serves as a member of Pfizer’s Executive Leadership Team. He is also the Executive Sponsor of the Diversity and Inclusion Worldwide Leadership Council for Pfizer. He reports directly to the CEO Ian Read. Cavan has more than 20 years of health care experience, spanning from Sandoz (both in the United States and Switzerland) to Wyeth. His most senior position at Wyeth was first Executive Vice President and General Manager of the high-growth BioPharma Business Unit. He was one of only two senior Wyeth executives offered a position at Pfizer after the merger and first headed Pfizer’s Diversified Businesses, including Animal Health, Consumer Healthcare, Nutrition, and Capsugal. He is a strong leader in the Pfizer community and a distinguished alum of the Carey Business School. Top

Mathuram Santosham, SPH '75
Mathuram Santosham is professor of Pediatrics and International Health at Johns Hopkins. He is also Founder and Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, the only center of its kind in the country. Dr. Santosham is internationally known for his work on oral rehydration therapy and for his work on childhood vaccines. He has been a global leader in the national and international dissemination of these vaccines worldwide. He was the principal investigator of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI)-funded Hib Initiative. This project was instrumental in increasing the adoption of Hib vaccines in GAVI-eligible countries from 20 percent in 2005 to over 85 percent in 2009. Dr. Santosham’s landmark research in the prevention of pediatric infectious diseases is responsible for significant improvements in the health of American Indian and Alaskan Native children. His leadership in proving the efficacy of a new haemophilus influenza type B vaccine is expected to result in the eventual eradication of this disease as a major cause of meningitis for Native American children. Until Dr. Santosham’s arrival in American Indian communities, meningitis, a disease which causes either death or permanent neurological damage, attacked Native American babies at a rate five times higher than the national average. Prior to the Center’s vaccine train in 1988, there were approximately 50 cases of meningitis per year on the Navajo reservation. Since the vaccine was introduced in 1991 for routine use, the disease has virtually disappeared. Top

Thomas T. Wan, SPH '71
Thomas T. H. Wan, Ph.D., is Associate Dean for Research, Director of the Public Affairs Doctoral Program, and Professor of Public Affairs, Health Services Administration, and Nursing at the College of Health and Public Affairs, University of Central Florida. Professor Wan has served in many capacities, including Department Chair, Founding Director of the Doctoral Program in Health Services Organization and Research, Director of the Williamson Institute for Health Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University; as the Associate Editor of the journal Research on Aging; as a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Gerontology; as a member of the Executive Committee for the Association for Social Scientists in Health; as a member of the Governing Council, Medical Care Section at the American Public Health Association; as a Senior Research Fellow of the National Center for Health Services Research; as a member of the Study Section on Aging and Human Development II at the National Institute on Aging; and as a member of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Currently, he serves on the advisory board of the Veterans Integrated Service Network VI and is a member of the Study Section on Nursing Research, NIH. He is also a member of the National Health Research Institute’s Scientific Review Committee in Taiwan. He has established collaborative research and educational programs in countries such as Taiwan, China, Korea, the Czech Republic, South Africa, and Kazakhstan. Top