FDA Commissioner Awards Dr. Jane L. Delgado the Harvey Wiley FDA Commissioner's Special Citation

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Yesterday, Dr. Stephen Ostroff, the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Acting Commissioner awarded Jane L. Delgado, PhD, MS, the Harvey Wiley FDA Commissioner's Special Citation. The FDA Commissioner's Special Citation medal is the highest award the agency bestows on citizens or organizations who promote public health. The award features a medallion with the likeness of Dr. Harvey Wiley, considered the "father of the FDA."

In making the award, Commissioner Ostroff recognized Dr. Delgado's leadership as President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (the Alliance).  He cited the Alliance's regulatory advocacy, consumer and community leadership engagement, and efforts to foster new science most recently in genomics. He also recognized the work of the Alliance/Merck Ciencia Scholars program, a U.S.-based initiative funded by Merck & Co., Inc., and thanked the Alliance along with the Healthy Americas Foundation and the Merck Foundation for their support of the initiative. 

The award presentation was made at a gathering of the Alliance/Merck Ciencia Scholars (www.alliancescholars.org), a program that supports promising high school seniors with scholarships, mentorships, and internships throughout their college years. The program has achieved graduation rates of Scholars with a degree in a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) field at a rate five times greater than the national average. The Scholars were at the FDA as part of a week-long program exploring the frontiers of science and career options. In his remarks, Commissioner Ostroff commented that the students "represent the next generation of science and the next FDA Commissioner may very well be sitting in this room today." 

About the National Alliance for Hispanic Health  (The Alliance)
The Alliance is the nation's foremost science-based source of information and trusted advocate for the health of Hispanics in the United States. For more information, visit http://www.hispanichealth.org or call the Alliance's Su Familia National Hispanic Family Health Helpline at 1-866-783-2645.

About the Merck Foundation
The Merck Foundation is a United States-based private charitable foundation established in 1957 by Merck, & Co., Inc., one of the world's leading research-driven healthcare companies. It is funded entirely by Merck and is the company's chief source of funding support for qualified non-profit charitable organizations. Since its inception, the Merck Foundation has contributed more than $829 million to support initiatives that address important societal needs in a manner consistent with the company's overall mission to help the world be well. To learn more about Merck's corporate responsibility framework and initiatives, visit: www.merckresponsibility.com.

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SOURCE National Alliance for Hispanic Health

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http://www.hispanichealth.org