March 3, 2011 - 4:34pm
Inventor of vitamin A deficiency pill receives 'U' Public Health medal
BY MICHELE NAROV
Dr. Alfred Sommer received the Thomas Francis Jr. Medal in Global Public Health Thursday for his invention of a pill to that combats vitamin A deficiency.
The award — given for the first time in 2005 — is named in honor of Thomas Francis, the founding chair of epidemiology at the University’s School of Public Health. Francis is remembered for his work on developing vaccines for polio and influenza.
Currently a professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Sommer was chosen to receive the award because of his work in recognizing the consequences of vitamin A deficiency.
Nearly 200 students and faculty members filled the Ross School of Business Blau Auditorium to listen to the presentation, which was followed by a panel discussion on global public health issues.
The award ceremony began with a video narrated by actress Glenn Close, who talked about Sommer’s work and his trips to help sick children in impoverished countries.
The video also explained Sommer’s interest in vitamin A deficiency. After researching the condition in Indonesia, Sommer realized children were dying from lack of the nutrient.
In response, Sommer created cheap vitamin A capsules that could be easily distributed to developing countries. The solution, which only costs pennies per pill, helped to drastically reduce child mortality.
The World Bank later called the capsules “the world’s most cost-effective health intervention.”
Before presenting the award with University Regent Julia Darlow (D–Ann Arbor), University President Mary Sue Coleman spoke briefly on the history of the research and explained that people were shocked by the simple solution to the problem.
“The scientific community, as some of us know, is sometimes hard to convince,” she said.
Coleman said Sommer conducted several extensive studies in various developing countries to prove the pills reduced vitamin A deficiency, and because of his vast efforts, is a deserving recipient of the award.
“Today we honor him with the Thomas J. Francis Jr. Medal in Global Public Health for his compassion and his dedication to saving the lives of so many,” she said.
Sommer’s acceptance speech was accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation further explaining his work and detailing the data that led him to his conclusions.
He closed his remarks by saying researchers should never lose sight of the fact that their work is “making an impact.”
The panel discussion that followed was moderated by Ken Warner, dean of the School of Public Health, and included panelists Anil Deolalikar, co-director of One Health Center at the University of California Global Health Institute, Kathy Spahn, president and CEO of Helen Keller International and Eduardo Villamor, an associate professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health.
The panelists discussed the importance of Sommer’s work and emphasized how it motivated other researchers to examine the implications of all types of vitamin deficiency.
After the ceremony, LSA senior Amy Plaut said she initially went to the event because it was offered in lieu of her public health class lecture, but she was happy she attended.
“I thought it was a good way to hear about what is going on in the world of public health, especially for undergraduates who want to go into that field,” she said.
In an interview after the ceremony, Sommer said he did not expect the opportunities to present themselves the way they did in his career. He explained that several of his colleagues warned him that if he pursued his theories about people in Indonesia, his presence in the public health world might become obsolete.
“My answer was maybe,” he said. “And if that happens I’ll think of something else, but right now this opportunity to go and explore this idea in Indonesia is just too good.”
Based on his experience, Sommer said he offers the same advice to students as he does to people at every level of power — including faculty, deans, professors, provosts and presidents.
“Life is full of forks in the road. You will discover that if you haven’t discovered that already,” he said. “Do whatever you are most pleased about doing.”
