OPENING DOORS WORLDWIDE FOR BETTER HEALTH
Mark Rasenick, PhD, University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine
"Global science transcends politics. It gets different people from all over the world working together to solve a personal issue that connects us all: our health. It proves that political boundaries can be overcome."
Mark Rasenick, PhD, is working to promote science, peace, and social change... all at the same time. A neurobiologist who studies the biology of psychiatric disease - particularly depression, and the efficacy of treatment, Rasenick uses his work to overcome boundaries around the world by promoting science and research. "Global science transcends politics," Rasenick says. "It gets different people from all over the world working together to solve a personal issue that connects us all: our health. It proves that political boundaries can be overcome."
And Rasenick's research focus - depression - is certainly a health issue that connects us all. Affecting about 121 million people worldwide, the disease is prevalent throughout low, middle and upper income countries. Already a major contributor to the global burden of disease, depression is projected by the World Health Organization to be the second leading cause of disability worldwide, for all ages, and both sexes by 2020.
"Depression is a serious disease with serious implications for physical health, quality of life, economic productivity, and overall functioning ability. We must increase our research on this disease, and the best way to maximize our investment will be through global, collaborative research. There are all kinds of tools and techniques outside the United States, and by combining our forces and efforts, we can work better and smarter to achieve solutions quicker, more efficiently and cheaper."
And throughout a 30 year research career working with international scientists, Rasenick can testify to the benefits of this collaboration. He is the founder of the Interamerican Consortium on Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, which works to foster cooperation in neuroscience (the study of the brain and nervous system) between Cuba, Latin America and the U.S., and he helped to lay foundations for conducting neuroscience research in Vietnam. He is also helping to develop Centers of Excellence in Southeast Asia. This collaborative research has been, and will be, critical to easing the burden of depression globally.
In 2001, Rasenick participated in a hearing on the "Bridges to Cuban People Act," and testified before a subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the U.S.-Cuban embargo and its delay on our advances in scientific progress. He is currently helping to craft a new version of the bill that would allow for U.S. science scholarships for Cuban nationals. Rasenick sees great benefits in opening doors worldwide in the field of science. "Global health research provides an intellectual and cultural exchange, which can help advance our scientific research, and at the same time create a new population of people that are sensitized to other cultures and ways of life."
"Global health DOES affect us. Our nation's insularity has hurt us immensely - it is one of the reasons we have become less competitive, and it is hindering potential economic growth. Look at what's happened in the European Union - their cooperation strengthened them enormously. We can learn a lot by working with others, which will have enormous benefits for the U.S. in terms of politics, the economy, research discoveries, and the future of young people. Scientists become leaders."