Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

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Giants of Minority Health and Biomedical Research Honored With Leadership Award
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science Pay Tribute to Two Visionary Men of Research

Los Angeles, CA. October 12, 2005 – Two stalwarts in the field of minority health and biomedical research, the Honorable Louis Stokes, US Congress (Retired) and Sidney McNairy, Jr., Ph.D., D.Sc., were recently honored with the inaugural Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science Leadership Award during its Research Centers in Minority Institutes (RCMI)
20^th year celebration of achievement and excellence.

The RCMI Leadership Award is one of the highest honors the University can bestow upon an individual and recognizes them for their outstanding achievement and extraordinary

contribution in the field of minority health, biomedical research and medical education. Recipients are nominated based upon truly ground-breaking accomplishments and visionary leadership in these areas.

“The two men that we have honored with our inaugural award are truly remarkable men of research in this country,” said Richard S. Baker, M.D., Director of the Charles R. Drew RCMI. “Together they are responsible for much of the advancements made in relation to not only research, but the overall increase in quality of care that underserved communities receive across this nation. It is because of their efforts that we as researchers are able to identify, and hopefully one day, eliminate the health disparities we face in this country.”

The RCMI is a congressionally-mandated program initiated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1985 in response to the first dramatic scientific documentation of racial/ethnic health disparities. Drew University in Los Angeles is home to one of 18 RCMI-funded programs across the nation. Many are unaware that this research center located in South Los Angeles has built a national reputation for excellence and innovation, with a focus on eliminating health disparities and improving the health of minority communities and all Americans. As a result of its cutting edge research, the NIH consistently ranks Drew in the top 5% of its annual awards granted.

Following are recipients of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science RCMI Leadership Award for 2005:

The author of the legislation which granted the RCMI program, Louis Stokes is an attorney, statesman and educator, who played a pivotal role in the quest for civil rights, equality and social and economic justice throughout his tenure in the United States Congress. On November 6, 1968, he became the first African American from the State of Ohio, to be elected to the United States Congress. Subsequently he served 15 consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 11th overall in House seniority. During his tenure, he chaired many important committees, including the House Select Committee on Assassinations, the Ethics Committee, the House Intelligence Committee, and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other Independent Agencies. He was the dean of the Ohio Congressional Delegation and a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. His work in the area of health led to his appointment as a member of the Pepper Commission on Comprehensive Health Care, and he was the founder and chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust.

Steadfast in his dedication and leadership at the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), which supports the growth of Biomedical research capacity at universities across the country, Dr. McNairy’s stewardship and visionary leadership of the RCMI program has gained him national distinction. During his career at the NIH, he has been the driving force behind the success of a number of innovative programs which have help to strengthen biomedical research infrastructures at both emerging and research-intensive biomedical institutions throughout the nation. He has also been a leader in developing programs that address health-disparities and health-related science education for K-12 students as well as the general public.

Founded in 1966 in response to the lack of adequate medical facilities in the South Los Angeles area, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science is the only historically Black and Hispanic serving institution for graduate medical and health professions education west of the Mississippi. A private, not-for-profit institution, the University’s mission is to conduct education and research in the context of community service in order to train physicians and allied health professionals to provide care with excellence and compassion, especially to underserved populations.