Yesterday the Chicago-based MacArthur foundation announced the University Medical Center's Janine Jagger as one of 24 recipients to receive its prestigious MacArthur award.
Jagger is an epidemiologist in the department of internal medicine in the division of infectious diseases and international health.
The award, casually referred to as the "genius award," was given to Jagger because of her groundbreaking work to protect medical workers from the dangers of blood-borne diseases.
According to the foundation, secret nominators identify potential recipients, and approximately 25 winners are drawn from a pool of hundreds of nominations.
The award incudes a grant of $500,000 to be used over the course of five years in any way the recipient chooses.
"We are seeking to celebrate the creativity of extraordinary people in all forms," MacArthur Foundation Program Asst. Anne-Marie Nicpon said.
According to Jagger, the emergence of AIDS and the increasing vulnerability of medical workers coming into contact with it in the 1980s led her to work in this area.
"The problem definitely had a solution and it wasn't being done," she said. "It was a unique opportunity to make a difference."
One way Jagger attacked the problem was to eliminate unnecessary needles in the medical environment. Previously, needles were used to connect machines and tubing.
"You don't need needles that access medical devices," she said. "You only need them to go through the skin."
Jagger secured a number of patents in the late 1980s by designing needles with extracting shield devices to protect medical workers and housekeepers from sharp and contaminated tips.
Also influencing epidemiology in the international community, Jagger designed the Exposure Prevention Information Network, which currently operates in 1,500 hospitals throughout the world.
Jagger plans to use the grant money to fund programs that currently lack funding, primarily extending her research to developing countries.
Working with colleagues in West Africa, she plans to research injury prevention targeted toward protecting medical workers from the raging AIDS epidemic there.
In Africa, medical workers' needs "are totally neglected," she said. "The assumption is that resources should be spent on patients, not workers."
Jagger said the loss of a doctor infected with AIDS can prove devastating to a local population, because of the dearth of physicians in developing countries.
Richard Pearson, a colleague of Jagger, has collaborated on many initiatives with her.
"She's absolutely fantastic, dedicated and effective in seeing solutions come to fruition," Pearson said. "She's a genius and warrants that title."
Jagger has known of her designation for a week, but was required to keep it a secret until yesterday.
Hearing her phone ring Wednesday last week at 6 p.m. after everyone else had left her office, she assumed it would just be a personal call.
"It was very difficult to find any words to respond" upon first learning of winning the award, she said. "I couldn't remember to say thank you and sent an e-mail the next day doing so."
Read More
Archivist Report on Jim Ryan
By Finn Trainer and Clara Franklin | YesterdayArchivists Finn Trainer and Clara Franklin recount Jim Ryan's tenure as the 9th President of the University.
Why did Student Council vote no confidence in the Board of Visitors?
By Lauren Seeliger | 2 days agoUltimately, Dickerson said during the Aug. 8 meeting that the decision to draft this resolution was not easy but was necessary so as to fulfill Student Council’s role.
U.Va. to seek external firm in search for 10th president
By Brendon Bordwine | 6 days agoExternal search firms are often retained by universities to identify and recruit candidates for top leadership positions.
