World renowned physician and meningitis vaccine expert Dr. Marc LaForce will speak at 7 p.m. Jan. 26 in the Berry College Krannert Ballroom.
His lecture “Global Immunization Programs: Workable Examples of Distributive Justice” is part of the Cecil B. Wright III Integrity in Leadership Lecture Series. The event is free and open to the public.
In May 2012, the Sabin Vaccine Institute awarded LaForce the Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal Award and in 2015 he was the recipient of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Award from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
LaForce has chaired the Steering Committee on Epidemiology and Field Research for the World Health Organization’s vaccine cluster and served as President of the US Armed Forces Epidemiological Board. He also directed the Meningitis Vaccine Project, a partnership that led to the development and introduction of an affordable Group A meningococcal conjugate vaccine in Sub-Saharan Africa leading to over 265 million Africans being immunized and the disease disappearing.
Before his meningitis vaccine work, LaForce held research, clinical and senior administrative positions at the University of Colorado and the University of Rochester Schools of Medicine. He served on numerous immunization advisory committees for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Physicians. He completed his internal medicine and infectious disease training on the Harvard Service at Boston City Hospital.
Currently, LaForce is a clinical professor of medicine at the NYU Langone School of Medicine and since 2012 he has served as director, technical services at the Serum Institute of India.
LaForce is speaking as part of the Cecil B. Wright III Integrity in Leadership Lecture Series. The series is named for Berry alumnus and trustee Cecil B. ""Buster"" Wright III in honor of his role as a force behind the Berry Center for Integrity in Leadership and its mentoring program, his financial commitments, and his personal character. LaForce is the third speaker in the series.
The Berry Center for Integrity in Leadership is dedicated to helping students develop a better understanding of ethical leadership in all aspects of life. Through classroom study, real-world mentors, guest speakers and other programming made possible by LifeReady: The Berry College Campaign for Opportunity, the BCIL cultivates a deeper grounding in values and integrity while also providing practical experience in the day-to-day decision-making that integrity in leadership requires. Visit www.berry.edu/integrity to learn more.
###
Written by Public Relations
