Economics & Medicine
David Meltzer, MD, PhD, was honored by Research!America
in 2002 with the inaugural Eugene Garfield Economic Impact of Medical and
Health Research Award. A professor in the departments of medicine and economics
at the University of Chicago, Meltzer accepted his award during a ceremony held
at the GlaxoSmithKline headquarters in Philadelphia on July 10.
The award is named in honor of its generous benefactor, Eugene Garfield, PhD. Garfield is the founder of the science-citation indexing system-an indispensable tool used by scientists across many research disciplines. He is president and editor-in-chief of The Scientist, a bi-weekly news journal for life scientists; and a member of the Research!America Board of Directors.
Meltzer was recognized for his work to merge the fields of economics and medicine. In publications such as the Journal of Health Economics, Meltzer developed unique methods to help decision makers use the tools of medical cost-effectiveness analysis to assess the potential benefits of biomedical research. Such methods could be used both to prioritize research projects and to help identify when further spending on research might be expected to yield substantial returns.