George Thurston received the American Thoracic Society’s Public Service Award at the society’s annual meeting in San Diego the week prior to his 45th reunion in May. The award recognizes significant contributions to public health related to improvement of indoor and outdoor air quality, eradication of tobacco usage, prevention of lung disease, improved management of communicable respiratory diseases, or improvement in the ethical delivery and access to health care in areas related to lung diseases. There is a special emphasis on efforts that have the potential to eliminate gender, racial, ethnic, or economic disparities. In his case, this has included offering expert testimonies before the U.S. Congress about air quality issues, representing the society at meetings with EPA administrators (including Scott Pruitt) and in the media, and community engagement on air pollution issues with underserved minority communities, such as in the South Bronx.
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Class of 1973