Celebrating Alan Magill, MD, FASTMH

Alan J. Magill Fellowship

The Magill Fellowship provides funding of $50,000 for a period of up to two years to one recipient from an L/LMIC to support mentorship, career and/or leadership development projects for ASTMH members in the early-to-middle stage of mid-career in low/low-middle income countries focusing on leadership development in tropical medicine and global health.
 

Congratulations to the 2023 Alan J. Magill Fellowship Recipient! Issiaka Soulama, PharmD, PhD, Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS)

Burkina Faso

 

Congratulations to the 2022 Alan J. Magill Fellowship Recipient! Fitsum Girma Tadesse, PhD, Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI)

Ethiopia

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2022 Alan J. Magill Malaria Eradication Symposium

Limitations and Challenges in Malaria Elimination
October 31, 2022
ASTMH Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA USA
View here

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2017 ASTMH and CSIS: Alan J. Magill Malaria Eradication Symposium 
Accelerating to Zero Through Innovation, Policy and Partnerships

 

 

 The symposium webcast 

See the introduction by Mark Dybul, Executive Director, Global Fund

View the introduction by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Co-Chair Senate Caucus on Malaria and NTDs

On April 24, 2017, one day before World Malaria Day, ASTMH and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) convened the inaugural Alan J. Magill Malaria Eradication Symposium in Washington, D.C. 

The symposium focused on three themes: progress toward malaria eradication and the critical role of the U.S., innovative science in support of elimination and countering resistance, and the role of the private sector, including faith-based organizations, in malaria elimination.

Click on the links above to hear a wide range of experts and viewpoints across the public and private sector engaged in the fight against malaria, including: Catholic Relief Services, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ExxonMobil, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Pan American Health Organization, the President’s Malaria Initiative, and the UN Foundation.

ASTMH is grateful to the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that made this event possible.

 

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ASTMH Announces Alan J. Magill Fellowship and Forums

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) announced the Alan J. Magill Fellowship and Forums, created in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through a $2.5 million grant, during its 2016 Annual Meeting in Atlanta. Over the next 20 years, the fellowship will annually select a Magill Fellow and hold two annual forums focusing on the latest research and science policy/funding for malaria eradication efforts. The announcement was made during the ASTMH 2016 Annual Meeting at the Alan J. Magill Malaria Eradication Symposium, the first of the forums.

The Fellowship will provide a stipend of $50,000 for up to two years to one annual recipient for mentorship and career development projects. Qualifications are in line with Dr. Magill’s passion for creating leaders from less-wealthy nations where malaria is prevalent: eligible applicants must be early-to-mid career ASTMH members in low/low-middle income countries who are focused on leadership development in research, clinical care or advocacy in tropical medicine. The Society is now accepting concept papers online for the first Fellowship, which will be awarded during the Society’s 2017 Annual Meeting.

"I’m proud of our Foundation’s new partnership with ASTMH that will honor Alan’s memory and advance the cause he championed. I look forward to … inspiring a new generation of young scientists. I am sure it will help us find more people like Alan Magill." – Melinda Gates

Recipients will be selected through a competitive process that recognizes outstanding work in tropical medicine research, clinical care or advocacy—all prominent roles in Dr. Magill's life. The Fellowship will support professional development and leadership opportunities beyond what might be currently available to young tropical medicine professionals in low/low-middle income countries. In doing so, the Fellowship will equip awardees with the skills and experience to later assume leadership and mentoring roles in various aspects of tropical medicine.

Application for the 2017  Alan J. Magill Fellowship are now closed. Look for the 2018 application following the Annual Meeting in November.

A full-capacity audience attended the 2016 Alan J. Magill Malaria Eradication Symposium in Atanta.

View the recorded webcast of the 2016 Alan J. Magill Malaria Eradication Symposium in Atanta.

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(1953 - 2015)

We note with profound sadness the unexpected death of Alan J. Magill, MD, FASTMH, the 2014 President of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), on September 19, 2015, outside Seattle.

Alan served as the Society’s President with distinction, bringing to this elected position his characteristic enthusiasm, optimism, and focus. A noteworthy feature of his presidential year was the Ebola outbreak in Africa; he led efforts by the Society to address this horrific epidemic, including support for urgent scientific work and communication, and the need to respect the human rights aspects of the epidemic. He was greatly interested in the future of the Society, in particular its attention to its core missions of sharing scientific evidence, informing health policy, fostering career development, recognizing excellence, and advocating for investment in tropical medicine research. His efforts allowed us to move noticeably closer to the Society’s vision of a world free of tropical infectious diseases.
 
Alan was the director of the Malaria Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Under his leadership the Foundation made great strides in its ambitious goal to eradicate malaria. Although there is a long way to go, we have clearly turned the tide on malaria and we have Alan to thank as one of the leading engineers of this success story. More broadly, he was an enthusiastic educator about infectious diseases, and a global leader in the fight against them.
 
Following his medical training, Alan served with distinction for 26 years in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, with a focus on clinical infectious diseases and research. His activities included clinical work in Germany, leading the Parasitology group at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 6 Peru, directing research efforts to identify important impacts of malaria and leishmaniasis in U.S. military campaigns, and leadership in infectious diseases research at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He was then a program leader at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency before moving to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Among Alan’s many accomplishments were leading multiple research efforts at the U.S. Department of Defense, including the development of multiple diagnostics and treatments for malaria and leishmaniasis; discovery of a novel parasitic disease, viscerotropic leishmaniasis; serving as lead editor on the ninth edition of Hunter’s Tropical Medicine and Emerging Infectious Diseases, a leading textbook; serving as coeditor for CDC Health Information for International Travel (the Yellow Book), the leading resource for travel medicine information in the United States; and authorship of numerous scientific papers and book chapters on malaria, leishmaniasis, travel medicine, and other topics in infectious diseases and military medicine.
 
Alan’s passion, good humor, intellect, and drive will be greatly missed by the ASTMH. His impacts were huge, with broad contributions on tropical infectious diseases and travel medicine over many years; mentoring generations of clinicians, soldiers, and scientists; and leadership of enormous efforts to control and eradicate malaria and other infectious diseases. For our Society, Alan brought focus to our mission and vision. His contributions and sprit live on as we work to fulfill his goal of a world free of malaria and other serious tropical infections.

Alan’s final wishes were that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Amazon Medical Project, ASTMH or PATH. Should you choose to donate to ASTMH, you will see the “Alan J. Magill Memorial Fund” listed about halfway down on the ASTMH donation page. At the top of the ASTMH homepage, you will see a donate button, that will also take you to the donation page. Ed Ryan's Introduction of Alan Magill's 2014 Presidential Address

Alan Magill's Presidential Address, New Orleans, November 2014: The Momentum of Progress: ASTMH and the Grand Convergence 

In Memorium: Alan Magill, ASTMH Immediate Past President, 1953–2015: AJTMH, October 22, 2015

A Tribute to Alan Magill, Trends in Parasitology, April 2016

ASTMH Council 2014
Alan Magill, MD, FASTMH, President