Kennedy, Schwarzenegger Named 2008 Advocacy Award Recipients

KennedySchwarzeneggerMassachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger were recently named Research!America 2008 Advocacy Award recipients.

Kennedy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, will receive our Edwin C. Whitehead Award for Medical Research Advocacy. He is honored for his longtime, consistent support of federal policies to advance health research, including championing National Institutes of Health funding increases. He was an original co-sponsor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act and the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007. He also has sponsored key legislation on issues including health disparities, health information technology and HIV/AIDS.

Schwarzenegger is being recognized with our Isadore Rosenfeld Award for Impact on Public Opinion. He was nominated by the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, a Research!America member, for his leadership on Proposition 71. In 2004, this proposition enabled the establishment of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine with an authorization of up to $3 billion over 10 years. More recently, Schwarzenegger authorized $150 million in loans to CIRM, quadrupling the amount of money available in the state to begin research on stem cells.

Our 2008 Advocacy Award recipients will be honored on March 18 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC. Our other previously announced 2008 Advocacy Award recipients are:

  • Raymond and Beverly Sackler Award for Sustained National Leadership: William H. Foege, MD, MPH, former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director; senior fellow, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and presidential distinguished professor, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health.
  • Gordon and Llura Gund Leadership Award: Pat Furlong, founding president and chief executive officer, Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.
  • Paul G. Rogers Distinguished Organization Advocacy Award; Benefactor: Hogan & Hartson LLP: amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, representated by Mathilde Krim, PhD, founding chairman. Kenneth Cole serves as amfAR's chair.
  • Builders of Science Award: Richard A. Lerner, MD, president, The Scripps Research Institute.
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