Illinois Global Health Initiative - Dr. Ratzan Seminar

This event is co-sponsored by: The Department of Communication The Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology Illinois Global Health Initiative (RSO) GENEROUSLY FUNDED BY SORF Scott C. Ratzan, MD, MPA is Vice President, Global Health, Johnson & Johnson and Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives. Dr. Ratzan is co-chair of the United Nations Secretary General's Innovation Working Group on Women and Children's Health. He presented the "Framework for Action for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases" at the UN General Assembly interactive hearing in June, 2011 as Chair of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations NCD Taskforce. He currently serves on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on health and well-being. Dr. Ratzan's continues research in health literacy, as he is the co-author of the definition that serves as the basis for US efforts in this area. He currently is a member of the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) Roundtable on Health Literacy. In 2010, he testified before the US Congressional Committee on Achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals: Progress through Partnerships. In 2009, he was selected by Research!America as an Ambassador for global health research. Dr. Ratzan initially joined Johnson & Johnson in 2002 as Vice President for European Government Affairs and Policy based in Brussels. From 2005-2008 he served as the industry representative on the European Union High Level Pharmaceutical Forum Working Group on Information to Patients. Prior to joining J&J, he was Senior Technical Adviser in the Bureau of Global Health at the US Agency for International Development, (USAID), where he developed the global health communication strategy for US funded efforts. He spent a decade in Boston (1988-1998) in academia as founder and Director of the Emerson-Tufts Program in Health Communication, a joint master's degree program between Emerson College and Tufts University School of Medicine. In 1998, he moved to Washington where he worked at the Academy for Educational Development on domestic and global health policy and innovation. He currently maintains faculty appointments at Tufts University School of Medicine and George Washington University Medical Center, and the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School. His books include the Mad Cow Crisis: Health and the Public Good, Attaining Global Health: Challenges and Opportunities, and AIDS: Effective Health Communication for the 90s. He also has delivered many presentations including the Leiter lecture on Quality Health Communication for the National Library of Medicine and an address on risk communication for the National Cancer Institute that was selected in Vital Speeches of the Day. Dr. Ratzan has appeared on Good Morning America and Nightline as well as published articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times and in academic journals including JAMA and The Lancet. Dr. Ratzan also has drafted "Maxims for Effective Communication on Health and Risk Issues" that was published as part of a World Health Organization Consultation in 1998. He received his MD from the University of Southern California; MPA from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; and MA (communication) from Emerson College.