Women's Health Expert to Give Talk at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – Dr. Polly Harrison, founder and director of the Alliance for Microbicide Development, will give a talk as part of the 11th annual Katherine A. Henry ’86 lecture series on Thursday, April 16 at 4 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center Room 519. The presentation, titled “New Pathways to Women’s Health and Empowerment,” is sponsored by the women’s and gender studies department at the College.

Alliance for Microbicide Development is a nonprofit coalition of scientists, product developers, public health experts, policy-makers and advocates dedicated to the development of effective and affordable microbes—products that reduce the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Founded by Harrison in 1998, the program has expanded to include hundreds of interdisciplinary members.

Harrison served as the senior program officer and director of international health at the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, where she led major studies on critical aspects of international health, infectious disease, reproductive health, and public/private sector responses to global health issues. Additionally, she founded the forum on HIV/AIDS research and the forum on emerging infections.

Prior to that, Harrison lived and worked for two decades at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as a medical anthropologist, policy analyst, faculty member for the Development Studies Program, and regional social science advisor. She has also served as a governing councilor of the American Public Health Association, a fellow of the American Anthropological Association, adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies, and ad hoc member on numerous advisory panels for the National Institutes of Health.

Harrison received her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College and her graduate degree from the Catholic University of America. In 2004, she was selected by Scientific American as a policy leader within the magazine’s prestigious annual list recognizing outstanding leadership in science and technology for the year. In 2006, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the “Microbicides 2006” biennial global conference. Harrison’s interest and passion in microbicides are fueled by the need for a female-initiated prevention method and its embedded relationship with women’s empowerment and equality.

The Katherine A. Henry ’86 Memorial Lecture Series, which is focused on women’s health issues, was endowed by Katherine Henry’s parents, in memory of their daughter who died in 1997.