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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient
Dr. Donald A. Henderson
D.A. Henderson is awarded the Medal of Freedom
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson congratulated Dr. D.A. Henderson for receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday July 9, 2002. Dr. Henderson was honored for a lifetime of work in the service of his country and humanity.
"This is a tremendous honor given to D.A., and one that is richly deserved," Secretary Thompson said, "Time and again he has proven his commitment to the health of the people of this nation and the world."
Dr. Henderson is most known for his work heading the World Health Organization global smallpox vaccination program from 1966-1977, as well as working to initiate the WHO global immunization program in 1974, which currently vaccinates nearly 80% of the world's children.
As HHS's principal science advisor for public health preparedness and chairman of the Secretary's Council on Public Health Preparedness, Dr. Henderson is in charge of coordinating Department-wide response to public health emergencies. He is also the founding director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation's highest civilian award. It was first introduced in 1945 by President Truman to honor notable service during WWII. President Kennedy reintroduced the award in 1963 to honor distinguished civil servants during peacetime. Recipients have included past Presidents Ford and Carter, as well as Anwar Sadat and Margaret Thatcher.
DONALD A. HENDERSON
Awarded by
President George W. Bush
July 9, 2002
Donald A. Henderson is a great general in mankind's war against disease. From 1966 to 1977 he led the World Health Organization's global smallpox eradication campaign. Today, he is helping protect America from the threat of bioterrorism. ``We need to plan, not panic,'' says this master medical planner. Our Nation is fortunate to be able to draw on D.A. Henderson's great store of wisdom and experience as we work to lift the dark threat of terrorism from the nation and our world.
Biography
Research
Donald A. Henderson, MD, MPH '60, is the founding director of the Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In addition to his duties at the Center, Dr. Henderson is a senior advisor to the federal government and the Department of Health and Human Services on civilian biodefense matters. In October 2001, Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services, named Dr. Henderson chair a new national advisory council on public health preparedness. The council is charged with recommending improvements to the nation’s public health infrastructure to better prepare the country for bioterrorist attacks.
Dr. Henderson is a Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Service Professor and dean emeritus of the School, with appointments in the departments of Epidemiology and International Health at the School. For the past four years, he has directed the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies. The Center was established to increase national and international awareness of the medical and public health threats posed by biological weapons. He rejoined the Hopkins faculty in June 1995 after five years of federal government service in which he served initially as associate director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President (1991-1993), and later as deputy assistant secretary and senior science advisor in the Department of Health and Human Services.
From 1977 through August 1990, Dr. Henderson was dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He came to Hopkins after directing the World Health Organization's (WHO) global smallpox eradication campaign (1966-1977). Dr. Henderson was instrumental, in 1974, in initiating WHO's global program of immunization, which has vaccinated 80 percent of the world's children against six major diseases and has as a goal the eradication of poliomyelitis.
Keywords
Founding director, Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies, Department of Health and Human Services, biodefense, bioweapons, bioterror, smallpox, anthrax, botulism, dean emeritus, global smallpox eradication, polio, polio eradication
Selected Publications
Henderson DA (2000) Smallpox: public health threat. Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, Elsevier.
Henderson DA (2000) Smallpox. Encyclopedia of Microbiology.
Henderson DA (1999) Disease eradication and control. In: Guerrant RL. Walker DH & Weller PF, ed. Tropical Infectious Diseases: Principles, Pathogens and Practices. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone: Vol 1, 101-105.
Henderson DA (1999) Smallpox and vaccinia. In: Plotkin S & Orenstein W, eds. Vaccines. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company: 74-97.
Henderson DA (1999) Smallpox and monkeypox. In: Guerrant RL, Walker DH & Weller PF, ed. Tropical Infectious Diseases: Principles, Pathogens and Practices. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone: Vol II, 1095-1106.
Henderson DA (1999) Smallpox. In: Encyclopedia of Microbiology. Academic Press (in press).
Henderson DA (1999) Lessons from the eradication campaigns. Vaccine 17:553-557.
Henderson DA (1999) Smallpox eradication: a saga of triumph and betrayal. Inf Dis in Clin Pract (in press).
Henderson DA (1999) Smallpox eradication -- a cold war victory. World Health Forum 19, 113-119.
Henderson DA (1999) Weapons for the future. Lancet 354: siv 64.
Henderson DA (1999) The looming threat of bioterrorism. Science 283, 1279-1282.
Inglesby TV, Henderson DA, Barlett JG, et al (1999) Anthrax as a biological weapon: medical and public health management. JAMA 281, 1735-1745.
Henderson DA, Inglesby TV, Barlett JG, et al (1999) Smallpox as a biological weapon: medical and public health management. JAMA 281, 2127-2137.
Henderson DA (1998) Eradication: Lessons from the past. Bull Wld Hlth Org 76 (supp 2) 17-21.
Henderson DA (1998) New and emerging infections. The Reynolds Historical Lectures. University of Alabama.
Henderson DA (1998) Bioterrorism. Emerging Infectious Diseases 4, 488-492.
Henderson DA (1998) The challenge of eradication: lessons from past eradication campaigns (The Pittsfield Lecture). Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2:54-58.
Henderson DA (1998) The siren song of eradication. J Royal College of Physicians 32, 580-584.
Henderson DA & de Quadros CA (1995) The eradication of poliomyelitis (Albert B. Sabin Lecture). In: Vaccines 95. Cold Spring Harbor NY: Cold Spring, Harbor Press: 413-422.
Henderson DA (1994) Health issues. In: DeGregori T & Rodgers H, eds. Policy Studies in Developing Nations, Vol 1. Greenwich CT: JAI Press: 231-243.
Henderson DA (1994) Glowing visions through a darkened glass. In: Jain SC, Whetten-Goldstein K & Igoe LM, eds. Issues in International Health. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina: 19-34.
Honors and Awards
Dr. Henderson has been recognized for his work by many institutions and governments. In 1986, he received the National Medal of Science, presented by the President of the United States. He is the recipient of the National Academy of Sciences' highest award, the Public Welfare Medal, and, with two colleagues, he shared the Japan Prize. Most recently he received from the Royal Society of Medicine, the Edward Jenner Medal. In 2000, he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, one of just 12 Honorary Fellows among the Academy's 2,500 members. In all, 13 universities have conferred honorary degrees and 14 countries have honored him with awards and decorations. In 2000, he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, one of just 12 Honorary Fellows among the Academy's 2,500 members.
Donald Henderson
Professor
Academic Degrees
MD, University of Rochester, 1954; MPH, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, 1960
Departmental Affiliation
Health Policy and Management
Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies
Departmental Address
111 Market Place, Suite 850
Baltimore, MD 21202
dhenders@jhsph.edu
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Medal History
