Osterholm Selected as 2007 Recipient of the State Excellence in Public Health Award

Selected for outstanding state and national service in public health

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (Oct. 10, 2007) – Michael T. Osterholm, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) and professor of public health at the University of Minnesota, was selected by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) as the 2007 recipient of the State Excellence in Public Health Award. This award recognizes outstanding service on behalf of the public health community at both the state and national levels.  Osterholm was selected for his outstanding leadership in public health over the past 30 years.  He is an international leader on global preparedness for an influenza pandemic; CIDRAP and the Pew Center on the States recently launched PandemicPractices.org, an essential online tool of pandemic preparedness resources for public health professionals.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award from an organization that is resolute in its commitment to sound public health policy in this country,” said Osterholm.  “My career contributions reflect the efforts of many colleagues at local, state, and national levels to improve the state of our public health.  As the director of CIDRAP at the University of Minnesota, I am especially proud of the continued contribution academia can make to our critical role as practitioners in the field of public health.”

Osterholm began his career with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) where he served in various positions for 24 years (1975-1999), the last 15 as state epidemiologist and chief of the Acute Disease Epidemiology Section. While at the MDH, Osterholm and his team were leaders in the area of infectious disease epidemiology. He has led numerous investigations of outbreaks of international importance, including foodborne diseases, the association of tampons and toxic shock syndrome (TSS), the transmission of hepatitis B in healthcare settings, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in health care workers. In addition, his team conducted numerous studies regarding infectious diseases in child-care settings, vaccine-preventable diseases, Lyme disease, and other emerging infections. They were also among the first to call attention to the changing epidemiology of foodborne diseases.

From 2001 through early 2005, Osterholm served as a special advisor to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson on issues related to bioterrorism and public health preparedness.  In 2005, he was appointed to the   National Science Advisory Board on Biosecurity.

Through these leadership roles, Osterholm has provided the public with critical information about how to prepare for an influenza pandemic, as well as how the United States can better prepare itself for a bioterrorism attack. He is a frequent consultant to the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Defense, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"ASTHO is privileged to honor Dr. Osterholm with our 2007 Excellence in Public Health Award.  Dr. Osterholm served the Minnesota Department of Health for a remarkable 24 years and is a highly regarded leader nationwide on issues related to state preparedness for pandemic influenza." David N. Sundwall, M.D., executive director, Utah Department of Health and ASTHO President.

ASTHO presented Osterholm with the State Excellence in Public Health Award at the group’s annual awards luncheon on Oct. 4.  ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the state and territorial public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia. ASTHO's members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to assuring excellence in state-based public health practice.

CIDRAP (www.cidrap.umn.edu) was created in September 2001 as an interdisciplinary center in the University of Minnesota's Academic Health Center. Its mission is to prevent illness and death from infectious diseases through epidemiologic research and the rapid translation of scientific information into real-world, practical applications and solutions.