“I am deeply touched to have been chosen for this award,” said Dr. Despommier. “As a teacher, there is nothing more important and fulfilling than having your students and their peers recognize and appreciate you for your work. I thank AMSA for this considerable honor and would like to share the award with my many equally deserving colleagues at Columbia.”
A graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University (B.S. biology, 1962), Columbia University (M.S. medical parasitology, 1964), and the University of Notre Dame (Ph.D., biology, 1967)—and a member of Columbia’s faculty since 1970—Dr. Despommier today has a wide variety of teaching and curriculum development responsibilities at Columbia, serving as course director for educational programs in parasitic diseases, ecology, medical ecology, emerging infections, and the environmental health sciences. Dr. Despommier is also the author of a textbook on parasitic diseases published in 2000 and is widely acclaimed for his book “West Nile Story,” an account of the West Nile virus epidemic that began in New York City during the summer of 1999.
“As one of the students who nominated Dr. Despommier, I am particularly delighted to hear of this award,” said Puneet Masson, class of 2005, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. “I’m sure all my classmates would agree that Dr. Despommier has made a significant difference in the lives and educational experiences of many students here at the Health Sciences campus. I can’t think of a worthier honoree than Dr. Despommier, and I’m glad that I had the opportunity to play such an important role in the nomination process that led to his selection.”
“Though Dr. Despommier has been acknowledged many times on our campus for his extraordinary gifts as a mentor and educator, we believe it is fitting and appropriate that he has received national recognition as well,” said Dr. Gerald D. Fischbach, executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences and dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Columbia University. “Without question, Dr. Despommier exemplifies the very best of what the American medical education system has to offer. He is richly deserving of this award and we commend AMSA for its decision.”
The American Medical Student Association, with a half-century history of medical student activism, is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950 to provide medical students a chance to participate in organized medicine, AMSA began under the auspices of the American Medical Association. Starting in 1960, the association refocused its energies on the problems of the medically underserved, inequities in the American health-care system and related issues in medical education. Since 1968, AMSA has been a fully independent student organization, and today is a student-governed, national organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. With a membership of more than 30,000 medical students, pre-medical students, interns and residents from across the country, AMSA continues its commitment to improving medical training and the nation's health.
Situated on a 20-acre campus in the Washington Heights community of northern Manhattan—and comprising roughly half of Columbia University’s nearly $2 billion annual budget—the Columbia University Health Sciences Division incorporates the dedicated work of physicians, scientists and health professionals from the College of Physicians & Surgeons (P&S), the Schools of Dental & Oral Surgery and Nursing, and the Mailman School of Public Health. Scientists at the Health Sciences campus conduct basic research with the ultimate goal of translating discoveries into new techniques for fighting disease and improving health. Today, Columbia Health Sciences continues to provide international leadership in world-class research and care.
The only accredited school of public health in New York City, and among the first in the nation, Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health provides instruction and research opportunities to more than 800 graduate students in pursuit of master’s and doctoral degrees. Its students and more than 200 multidisciplinary faculty engage in research and service in the city, nation, and around the world, concentrating on biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health policy and management, population and family health, and sociomedical sciences.