Former First Lady Nancy Reagan, Sam Donaldson Among 2006 Awardees
WASHINGTON—March 22, 2006—Research!America recognized seven distinguished advocates for medical and health research with its 10th Annual Advocacy Awards. The awards were presented March 21 at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC. Judy Woodruff, broadcast journalist and Research!America board member, served as master of ceremonies.
"The recipients of Research!America's 10th Annual Advocacy Awards are a remarkable group of individuals and organizations that have helped create policies that support research, helped bring America's scientists the resources they need, and let millions of Americans see the returns of medical and health research in finding new preventions, treatments and cures," said Mary Woolley, president of Research!America.
Though unable to attend the gala, former first lady Nancy Reagan was honored with the Research!America Legacy Award. After her husband, President Ronald Reagan, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, she became an outspoken advocate for medical and health research, most notably for research involving embryonic stem cells. Through her association with the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Institute, she has inspired and educated millions and paid tribute to the nation's best scientific minds.
Veteran journalist Sam Donaldson was presented the Isadore Rosenfeld Award for Impact on Public Opinion. The ABC News co-anchor, White House correspondent and investigative journalist has openly discussed his battles with melanoma and advocated the importance of research to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat these common but often deadly cancers. Award benefactor Isadore Rosenfeld, MD, of Weill Cornell Medical Center, is health editor for PARADE magazine and a Research!America emeritus director.
U.S. Representatives Michael Castle (DE) and Diana DeGette (CO) received Research!America's pinnacle Edwin C. Whitehead Award for Medical Research Advocacy, which carries the name of Research!America's founding chair. Castle and DeGette have been instrumental in initiating legislation-the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 (H.R. 810)-that would expand the current federal embryonic research policy. In addition, both serve as co-chairs of the Congressional Diabetes Caucus. The Whitehead Charitable Foundation, the award benefactor, is a long-standing Research!America partner.
The Raymond and Beverly Sackler Award for Sustained National Leadership was awarded to Linda Aiken, PhD, RN, director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research and Claire M. Fagin Leadership Professor of Nursing and Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Aiken is recognized as the premier authority on causes, consequences and solutions for nursing shortages. Her research has contributed much to understanding the relationship between nursing care and patient outcomes. Award benefactors Beverly and Raymond R. Sackler, MD, are long-standing Research!America supporters. Raymond Sackler is a Research!America emeritus director.
Gordon Gund, co-founder and chairman of The Foundation Fighting Blindness, and CEO of Gund Investment Corporation, received Research!America's award for Exceptional Contributions as a Volunteer Advocate for Medical and Health Research. Diagnosed as a young adult with retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that left him blind in 1970, Gund went on to a very successful career as an investor, an owner of four professional sports teams and a prominent philanthropist. He has made possible the funding of thousands of leading-edge blindness research studies into preventions, treatments and cures.
The award for the Organization That Has Distinguished Itself by its Advocacy was presented to the Center for the Advancement of Health for its work to promote the translation and adoption of health research into policy and clinical practice and for raising awareness about the latest research. Emphasizing the ways social, behavioral and economic factors affect illness and well-being, the Washington, DC-based center provides information to the public, policy makers and health research institutions to increase the value of our investment in health research. Jessie Gruman, PhD, the center's president, accepted the award.
Research!America is the nation's largest not-for-profit public education and advocacy alliance working to make medical and health research-including research to prevent disease, disability and injury and to promote health-a much higher national priority. The 2006 Advocacy Awards represent Research!America's 10th year of recognizing the accomplishments of leading advocates for medical and health research.
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