Elias Zerhouni
Encyclopedia
Elias A. Zerhouni (born April 12, 1951) is an Algeria
n born American radiologist and medical researcher. He was the 15th director of the National Institutes of Health
, appointed by George W. Bush
in May 2002. He served for 6 years, stepping down in October, 2008.
descent. He was born in Nedroma
in Tlemcen Province
. He emigrated to the United States at age 24, having earned his M.D. at the University of Algiers
School of Medicine in 1975. After completing his residency in diagnostic radiology at Johns Hopkins in 1978 as chief resident, he served as assistant professor in 1979 and associate professor in 1985. Between 1981 and 1985, he was in the department of radiology at Eastern Virginia Medical School
and its affiliated DePaul Hospital. In 1988, Zerhouni returned to Johns Hopkins where he was appointed director of the MRI division, becoming chair of the Russell H. Morgan department of radiology and radiological science, and Martin Donner professor of radiology and professor of biomedical engineering. Zerhouni went on to serve as Executive Vice-Dean of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Zerhouni (Johns Hopkins University's) MRI division's imaging research led to major advances in Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT scanning) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This MRI division is credited with developing novel quantitative imaging methods used for diagnosing cancer, cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. As one of the world’s premier experts in computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), this department extended the role of CT and MRI from taking snapshots of gross anatomy to visualizing how the body works at the physiologic and molecular level. This MRI division pioneered magnetic tagging, a non-invasive method of using MRI to track the motions and accurately measure the function of a heart in three dimensions. This MRI division is also known for refining an imaging technique called quantitative computed tomographic (CT) densitometry that helps discriminate between non-cancerous and cancerous nodules in the lung and for developing and applying the method of High Resolution CT for the study of heart and lung structure and function and for diagnosing cancer.
Partly based on this MRI division's research and inventions (Johns Hopkins University's), Zerhouni founded or co-founded 5 start up companies. He founded Computerized Imaging Reference Systems (CIRS) in 1982 where he served as founder and chairman for several years. He founded Advanced Medical Imaging in 1989, which was later sold to a major public company. He is a co-inventor and co-founder of Biopsys Corporation which became public before being acquired by a major public company in 1996. He co-founded American Radiology Services and served as chairman and CEO of it until 2002 and he is a co-inventor and co-founder of Surgivision, Inc. an MRI image guided surgery company. This MRI division's research in imaging led to advances in Computed tomography
(CAT scanning) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI) that resulted in 157 peer review
ed publications and 8 patent
s.
In 1985, he was a consultant to the White House
under President Ronald Reagan
. In 1988, he was a consultant to the World Health Organization
. Since 2000, he has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences
' Institute of Medicine
. He had served on the National Cancer Institute
's Board of Scientific Advisors from 1998-2002.He has won several awards for his research including a Gold Medal from the American Roentgen Ray Society
for CT
research and two Paul Lauterbur
Awards for MRI research. Zerhouni received the honorary title Doctor Emeritus
from the University of Algiers in 2005. He received the Légion d'honneur
from the French National Order in 2008. In 2010, Zerhouni received an honorary degree (L.H.D.) from Johns Hopkins University for service to the university and the nation.
Since leaving the NIH, Zerhouni has been appointed to the boards of the Lasker Foundation, Research!America, and the Mayo Clinic
. He joined the board of trustees for King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) when the school opened in September,2009. He was also named by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley to the chairmanship of the Maryland Economic Development Commission. Zerhouni was also recently appointed as Chief Scientific Advisor of Science-Translational Medicine, a sister publication of Science Magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He also advises the CEO of a global pharmaceutical and vaccines company, Sanofi-Aventis
, on science and technology issues and serves on the board of Actelion Pharmaceuticals, a Swiss biotechnology company. He is also a Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University
.
Most recently, in 2010, Zerhouni formed the Zerhouni Group, LLC, a global science and health consulting firm. In addition, Dr. Zerhouni has been a scientific advisor to Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher of sanofi-aventis since February 2009. Lately, sanofi-aventis named Dr. Zerhouni as the new head of research and development on Tuesday, Dec 14 2010 and will report directly to the CEO. Of late, it has been mentioned, that he is a Senior Fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Global Health), and is Chief Scientific Advisor to the prestigious journal Science Translational Medicine, of the AAAS.
Under Dr. Zerhouni's leadership, Congress responded to the need for NIH to develop innovative and cross-cutting programs by authorizing and funding the NIH Common Fund within the Office of the Director. The NIH Reform Act of 2006 NIH Reform Act of 2006 codified the NIH Common Fund to support cross-cutting programs that involve the participation of at least two of NIH's 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs) or would otherwise benefit from strategic planning and coordination. The Reform Act also codified OPASI by creating the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI). To date, the Common Fund has been used to support a series of short-term, exceptionally high impact, trans-NIH programs, including the NIH Pioneer and New Innovator awards.
During his tenure at NIH, Dr. Zerhouni also led the effor to promote global health and global research. In the spring of 2008, speaking to Medline Plus, he said, "Diseases know no borders anymore. SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome] spread through the world in a matter of days. The dangers of fast-moving infectious diseases require us to have a global vision. Without a worldwide network of well trained, qualified scientific collaborators, we won't have the radar to protect the American public from emerging and re-emerging infections, like pandemic flu. That's why it was very important to increase our presence around the world." His accomplishments at the NIH also included the establishment of a research program into the problem of widespread obesity
, and supporting the reduction of healthcare disparities. In April 2006, he told a Congressional subcommittee, "We can now clearly envision an era when the treatment paradigm of medicine will increasingly become more predictive, personalized and preemptive. We will strike disease before it strikes us with the hope of greatly reducing overall costs to society." During his NIH tenure, Zerhouni also created the Neuroscience Blueprint, a cooperative effort among 16 NIH Institutes, Centers and Offices that support neuroscience research. Zerhouni also led major efforts to revise aspects of the NIH peer review system and implement public access to publications arising from NIH funded research.
, US President Barack Obama
announced a new Science Envoy program as part of a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world." In January, 2010 Zerhouni, Ahmed Zewail
, and Bruce Alberts
became the first US science envoys to Islam, visiting Muslim-majority countries from North Africa to Southeast Asia.
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n born American radiologist and medical researcher. He was the 15th director of the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, appointed by George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in May 2002. He served for 6 years, stepping down in October, 2008.
Background
A resident of Pasadena, Maryland, Zerhouni is of AlgerianDemographics of Algeria
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Algeria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
descent. He was born in Nedroma
Nedroma
Nedroma is a city in Tlemcen Province, Algeria. Once the capital of Trara, it was built on the ruins of a Berber city by Abd al-Mu'min The Almohad caliph, who himself was a native of the neighboring mountains.- World Heritage Status :...
in Tlemcen Province
Tlemcen Province
Tlemcen is a province in northwestern Algeria. The Tlemcen National Park is located there.-Administrative divisions:The province is divided into 20 districts , which are further divided into 53 communes or municipalities....
. He emigrated to the United States at age 24, having earned his M.D. at the University of Algiers
University of Algiers
The University of Algiers Benyoucef Benkhedda is a university located in Algiers, Algeria. It was founded in 1909 and is organized into seven faculties.-History:...
School of Medicine in 1975. After completing his residency in diagnostic radiology at Johns Hopkins in 1978 as chief resident, he served as assistant professor in 1979 and associate professor in 1985. Between 1981 and 1985, he was in the department of radiology at Eastern Virginia Medical School
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Eastern Virginia Medical School commonly referred to as EVMS, in Norfolk, Virginia is a public-private medical school founded by the citizens of Hampton Roads, Virginia...
and its affiliated DePaul Hospital. In 1988, Zerhouni returned to Johns Hopkins where he was appointed director of the MRI division, becoming chair of the Russell H. Morgan department of radiology and radiological science, and Martin Donner professor of radiology and professor of biomedical engineering. Zerhouni went on to serve as Executive Vice-Dean of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Zerhouni (Johns Hopkins University's) MRI division's imaging research led to major advances in Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT scanning) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This MRI division is credited with developing novel quantitative imaging methods used for diagnosing cancer, cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. As one of the world’s premier experts in computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), this department extended the role of CT and MRI from taking snapshots of gross anatomy to visualizing how the body works at the physiologic and molecular level. This MRI division pioneered magnetic tagging, a non-invasive method of using MRI to track the motions and accurately measure the function of a heart in three dimensions. This MRI division is also known for refining an imaging technique called quantitative computed tomographic (CT) densitometry that helps discriminate between non-cancerous and cancerous nodules in the lung and for developing and applying the method of High Resolution CT for the study of heart and lung structure and function and for diagnosing cancer.
Partly based on this MRI division's research and inventions (Johns Hopkins University's), Zerhouni founded or co-founded 5 start up companies. He founded Computerized Imaging Reference Systems (CIRS) in 1982 where he served as founder and chairman for several years. He founded Advanced Medical Imaging in 1989, which was later sold to a major public company. He is a co-inventor and co-founder of Biopsys Corporation which became public before being acquired by a major public company in 1996. He co-founded American Radiology Services and served as chairman and CEO of it until 2002 and he is a co-inventor and co-founder of Surgivision, Inc. an MRI image guided surgery company. This MRI division's research in imaging led to advances in Computed tomography
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
(CAT scanning) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...
(MRI) that resulted in 157 peer review
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
ed publications and 8 patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s.
In 1985, he was a consultant to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
under President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. In 1988, he was a consultant to the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
. Since 2000, he has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
' Institute of Medicine
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
. He had served on the National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
's Board of Scientific Advisors from 1998-2002.He has won several awards for his research including a Gold Medal from the American Roentgen Ray Society
American Roentgen Ray Society
The American Roentgen Ray Society is a radiology society in the United States. It was founded in 1900, in the early days of x-ray and radiation study....
for CT
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
research and two Paul Lauterbur
Paul Lauterbur
Paul Christian Lauterbur was an American chemist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2003 with Peter Mansfield for his work which made the development of magnetic resonance imaging possible.Dr...
Awards for MRI research. Zerhouni received the honorary title Doctor Emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
from the University of Algiers in 2005. He received the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
from the French National Order in 2008. In 2010, Zerhouni received an honorary degree (L.H.D.) from Johns Hopkins University for service to the university and the nation.
Since leaving the NIH, Zerhouni has been appointed to the boards of the Lasker Foundation, Research!America, and the Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
. He joined the board of trustees for King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) when the school opened in September,2009. He was also named by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley to the chairmanship of the Maryland Economic Development Commission. Zerhouni was also recently appointed as Chief Scientific Advisor of Science-Translational Medicine, a sister publication of Science Magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He also advises the CEO of a global pharmaceutical and vaccines company, Sanofi-Aventis
Sanofi-Aventis
Sanofi S.A. is a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France, the world's fourth-largest by prescription sales. Sanofi engages in the research and development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical products for sale principally in the prescription market, but the...
, on science and technology issues and serves on the board of Actelion Pharmaceuticals, a Swiss biotechnology company. He is also a Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
.
Most recently, in 2010, Zerhouni formed the Zerhouni Group, LLC, a global science and health consulting firm. In addition, Dr. Zerhouni has been a scientific advisor to Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher of sanofi-aventis since February 2009. Lately, sanofi-aventis named Dr. Zerhouni as the new head of research and development on Tuesday, Dec 14 2010 and will report directly to the CEO. Of late, it has been mentioned, that he is a Senior Fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Global Health), and is Chief Scientific Advisor to the prestigious journal Science Translational Medicine, of the AAAS.
National Institutes of Health
Soon after becoming the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in May 2002, Zerhouni convened a series of meetings to chart a "Roadmap for Medical Research" in the 21st century. The purpose was to identify major opportunities and gaps in biomedical research that no single Institute at NIH could tackle alone, but that the agency as a whole must address to make the biggest impact on the progress of medical research. Developed with input from meetings with more than 300 nationally recognized leaders in academia, industry, government, and the public, the NIH Roadmap provided a framework of priorities that the NIH as a whole must address in order to optimize its entire research portfolio. The NIH Roadmap identified the most compelling opportunities in three main areas: new pathways to discovery, research teams of the future, and re-engineering the clinical research enterprise. Roadmap programs were initially funded by a 1 percent contribution from each of the NIH ICs. Zerhouni subsequently created the Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI) to lead ongoing Roadmap efforts and to create the Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization Process (RCDC), an online system which reports NIH research investments.Under Dr. Zerhouni's leadership, Congress responded to the need for NIH to develop innovative and cross-cutting programs by authorizing and funding the NIH Common Fund within the Office of the Director. The NIH Reform Act of 2006 NIH Reform Act of 2006 codified the NIH Common Fund to support cross-cutting programs that involve the participation of at least two of NIH's 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs) or would otherwise benefit from strategic planning and coordination. The Reform Act also codified OPASI by creating the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI). To date, the Common Fund has been used to support a series of short-term, exceptionally high impact, trans-NIH programs, including the NIH Pioneer and New Innovator awards.
During his tenure at NIH, Dr. Zerhouni also led the effor to promote global health and global research. In the spring of 2008, speaking to Medline Plus, he said, "Diseases know no borders anymore. SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome] spread through the world in a matter of days. The dangers of fast-moving infectious diseases require us to have a global vision. Without a worldwide network of well trained, qualified scientific collaborators, we won't have the radar to protect the American public from emerging and re-emerging infections, like pandemic flu. That's why it was very important to increase our presence around the world." His accomplishments at the NIH also included the establishment of a research program into the problem of widespread obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
, and supporting the reduction of healthcare disparities. In April 2006, he told a Congressional subcommittee, "We can now clearly envision an era when the treatment paradigm of medicine will increasingly become more predictive, personalized and preemptive. We will strike disease before it strikes us with the hope of greatly reducing overall costs to society." During his NIH tenure, Zerhouni also created the Neuroscience Blueprint, a cooperative effort among 16 NIH Institutes, Centers and Offices that support neuroscience research. Zerhouni also led major efforts to revise aspects of the NIH peer review system and implement public access to publications arising from NIH funded research.
Political work
In his June 4, 2009 speech at Cairo UniversityCairo University
Cairo University is a public university located in Giza, Egypt.The university was founded on December 21, 1908, as the result of an effort to establish a national center for educational thought...
, US President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
announced a new Science Envoy program as part of a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world." In January, 2010 Zerhouni, Ahmed Zewail
Ahmed Zewail
Ahmed Hassan Zewail is an Egyptian-American scientist who won the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry. He is the Linus Pauling Chair Professor Chemistry and Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology.- Birth and education :Ahmed Zewail was born on...
, and Bruce Alberts
Bruce Alberts
Bruce Michael Alberts is an American biochemist known for his work in science public policy and as an original author of the Molecular Biology of the Cell...
became the first US science envoys to Islam, visiting Muslim-majority countries from North Africa to Southeast Asia.