[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 138 (Thursday, November 13, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S5984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        RECOGNIZING NANCY J. COX

  Mr. HARKIN. I would like to recognize the outstanding career of a 
dedicated civil servant, Iowan Dr. Nancy Cox, who will retire in 
November 2014 after 37 years of distinguished Federal service at the 
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Cox started 
working on influenza at CDC in 1976. Thirty-seven years and 278 
publications later, she has transformed the surveillance and science of 
influenza viruses and vaccines. Her scientific work has been critical, 
given the tremendous global burden of human seasonal influenza--1 
billion cases, 3 to 5 million severe illnesses, and 300,000 to 500,000 
deaths each year. In addition, avian or swine influenza viruses can 
adapt to human-to-human transmission, leading to global and devastating 
pandemics with disruption in commerce and tragic numbers of illnesses 
and deaths. The breadth and depth of influenzas impact is vast, 
underscoring Dr. Cox's vital contribution from her science and service.
  Dr. Cox began her senior leadership duties years ago directing a 
small branch of 40 to 50 staff. Today she oversees more than 320 staff, 
and the Influenza Division she directs has broad responsibilities as 
the U.S. Government, USG, lead for influenza prevention and control, 
and as one of five World Health Organization Collaborating Centers for 
the Surveillance, Epidemiology and Control of Influenza. Dr. Cox 
recognized that influenza prevention and control requires a broad, 
multifaceted surveillance effort. Through her scientific leadership, 
direction, and publication of scientific findings, CDC established 
surveillance for various aspects of influenza illness to improve the 
understanding of influenza impact and to provide ongoing influenza 
surveillance data throughout the season to inform clinical management 
and to monitor effectiveness of influenza prevention efforts.
  During her 37 years at CDC, Dr. Cox has served as mentor, educator, 
supervisor, and supporter to hundreds of individuals: undergraduates, 
medical and PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, laboratory and 
epidemiology staff members, journalists, and visiting researchers. As 
Director of the WHO Collaborating Center for the Surveillance, 
Epidemiology and Control of Influenza at CDC, Dr. Cox has worked 
closely with public health laboratory officials from Russia, Vietnam, 
and China, leading to transforming their capabilities in influenza 
virology and surveillance. Her oversight of influenza laboratories at 
CDC has set the standards for measuring immune response in infected and 
vaccinated people and also has led CDC to be the global reference 
center for antiviral resistance and for measuring transmission of 
influenza viruses in animal models. Her leadership at WHO has also led 
to significant changes in the methods, reporting, interpretation, and 
policy development for selecting candidate vaccine viruses for use in 
annual vaccine production. Dr. Cox has been able to see where the field 
of influenza prevention and control needs to go to address emerging 
problems, and the successes of her scientific intuition and persistence 
are present in many places around the globe.
  Dr. Cox has been recognized by virologists, public health officials, 
leaders in State and Federal governments, international leaders, 
academics, and others. She is the recipient of 10 National Center for 
Infectious Disease recognition awards, 7 Nakano Awards, 4 Shepard 
Awards, Lancet Paper of the Year, Time Magazine's The Time 100: People 
Who Shape Our World, Service to America Award, CDC's Lifetime 
Achievement Award, and the USG-wide award for Federal Employee of the 
Year. She has served as a reviewer for numerous scientific journals and 
research grant efforts. She is frequently invited by editors of 
Science, New England Journal of Medicine, and other journals to write 
editorials and opinion pieces. She has been chair of many scientific 
panels and symposia and has served on various scientific committees for 
international conferences and global influenza policy development 
workgroups. Even more important than her past contribution is the solid 
footing of CDCs Influenza Division for the future that she leaves as 
her legacy.
  Dr. Cox is an Iowa native--born in Emmetsburg--and attended Iowa 
State University, ISU, where she got a BS in bacteriology in 1970. She 
is a life member of the ISU alumni association. In addition to her Iowa 
State degree, she has a doctorate in virology from the University of 
Cambridge and was a postdoctoral fellow at both the University of 
Maryland, Baltimore County, and at the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.

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