Science: An outspoken epidemiologist becomes U.S. science envoy
“If there’s an infectious disease that has threatened public health over the past four decades, epidemiologist Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota (UM) in Minneapolis likely has said something about it. … [Monday], the U.S. Department of State announced he would be one of its five science envoys, a program that began in 2010 and taps prominent scientists for one-year appointments to build global collaborations on pressing issues. Joining Osterholm in this year’s class are chemical engineer Robert Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge; bioengineer Rebecca Richards-Kortum of Rice University in Houston, Texas; environmental engineer James Schauer of the University of Wisconsin in Madison; and retired NASA Administrator Charles Bolden…” (Cohen, 6/12).