Dr. Jose Ignacio Santos Selected as Simon Ramo Lecturer

CLAREMONT, Calif., Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Jose Ignacio Santos, an international expert from Mexico on infectious disease, pediatrics and public health, will speak as the 2011 Simon Ramo Distinguished Lecturer on Sept. 30 at Keck Graduate Institute, an event co-hosted by Claremont Graduate University.

Santos' talk will be on "Emerging, Reemerging and New Transmissible Infectious Diseases."

"We are honored and delighted that Dr. Santos will provide the Simon Ramo lecture this year," said Sheldon M. Schuster, PhD, KGI's president. "He has been a force in public health reforms that have impacted millions of people in Latin America and around the globe, and we look forward to hearing his insights on what the scientific and medical communities must prepare for with respect to infectious diseases."

Santos currently serves as the Professor of Experimental Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the School of Medicine for Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (National Autonomous University of Mexico).

Santos has spent 20 years working on public and global health. His efforts include serving on the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) in Vaccines and Immunization of the World Health Organization and as a board member of the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (Seoul, Korea).

He currently serves on the board of trustees of the International Center for Diarrheal Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and on the Pan-American Health and Education Foundation.

Prior to joining Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Santos served as the general director of Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez, the oldest and one of the foremost pediatric academic institutions in the Western Hemisphere and one of Mexico's National Institutes of Health. From 1997-2004, he was director of Mexico's National Infant and Adolescent Health Program and technical secretary of the government's immunization program.

The Simon Ramo Distinguished Lecture Series showcases achievements in the life sciences by some of the world's top researchers and industry leaders. Previous speakers have included J. Craig Venter, Donald Kennedy, Leroy Hood, Maxine Singer, Dr. Bruce Alberts and P. Roy Vagelos. The event is made possible by endowed gifts from Simon and Virginia Ramo and the W. M. Keck Foundation.

The lecture will begin at noon in the Founders Room on the KGI campus.

ABOUT KGI

Educating the future leaders of the life sciences industry, Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) offers an interdisciplinary graduate education through its Master of Bioscience (MBS), Postdoctoral Professional Masters in Bioscience Management (PPM), Postbaccalaureate Premedical Certificate (PPC), PhD and other academic programs. Using team-based learning and real-world projects, KGI's innovative curriculum seamlessly combines applied life sciences, bioengineering, bioethics and business management. KGI also has a robust research program concentrating on the translation of basic discoveries in the life sciences into applications that can benefit society. KGI is a member of The Claremont Colleges, located in Claremont, California.

ABOUT CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1925, Claremont Graduate University is one of the top graduate schools in the United States. Nine academic schools conduct leading-edge research and award master’s and doctoral degrees in 24 disciplines. Because the world’s problems are not simple nor easily defined, diverse faculty and students research and study across the traditional discipline boundaries to create new and practical solutions for the major problems plaguing the world. A Southern California based graduate school devoted entirely to graduate research and study, CGU boasts a low student-to-faculty ratio.

SOURCE Keck Graduate Institute