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November 14, 2002             

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Professor Receives Pollin Prize for Pediatric Research

Nathaniel F. Pierce, MD, professor of international health in the Division of Disease Prevention and Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, was named one of the four recipients of the Pollin Prize in Pediatric Research. The other recipients are Norbert Hirschhorn, MD, Dilip Mahalanabis, MBBS, and David Nalin, MD. The four were chosen for their seminal contributions to the discovery and implementation of Oral Rehydration Therapy in the 1960s and early 1970s. The treatment is credited with saving the lives of 40 million children in the past 30 years.

This international award, which is being presented for the first time, recognizes outstanding lifetime achievement in biomedical or public health research related to the health of children. The award, created by the Irene and Abe Pollin family, of Chevy Chase, Md., will be given annually to one or more senior investigators who have done work of international significance.

The award consists of a $100,000 cash prize that is shared by the recipients, and a medal or certificate. It will also include a $100,000 fellowship stipend to be assigned by the Pollin Prize recipients to a young investigator working in a research area related to that of the recipients. The stipend will support a substantial portion of salary and laboratory expenses for two years.

Dr. Pierce was recognized for his work in Calcutta in 1967, which consisted of studies of water and electrolyte balance in patients with cholera. He and his colleagues showed that intragastric infusion of solutions of varying concentrations of glucose and sodium could maintain hydration during severe diarrhea without the need for intravenous infusion. These studies provided experimental support for the efficacy of enteric resuscitation of life-threatening diarrheal illness and helped to guide efforts to devise an optimal formulation for a practical oral rehydration solution.

Dr. Pierce will receive his award on Nov. 15, 2002, at a luncheon at Columbia University’s Clark Conference & Baldwin Hall, in New York, NY.

Public Affairs Media Contacts for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health:Tim Parsons or Kenna Brigham @ 410-955-6878 or paffairs@jhsph.edu.