UW creates Department of Global Health

Seattle's leading role in global-health research was underscored Thursday when the University of Washington launched its new Department of Global Health.

King Holmes, a leading AIDS researcher and UW faculty member of more than 35 years, was named first department chair.

The UW expects that, over time, the department will become home to 50 faculty and up to 500 undergraduate and graduate students. The UW plans to begin moving the first faculty and students to the new department by January and could get state approval to offer a new undergraduate degree in global health by 2008.

The launch was made possible by a $30 million donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — $10 million for start-up costs and $20 million for an endowment. The state Legislature chipped in $500,000 this year, and the UW will contribute $2 million a year once the department is fully up and running.

Holmes, 69, was not initially a candidate to lead the department but was persuaded by the UW after a lengthy search in which two candidates, one from Johns Hopkins University and another from Yale University, declined offers. "I thought at this point in my career it was the right thing to do," Holmes said. "It's a great opportunity and a unique opportunity. I love doing global health work, I do it most of the time anyway with my HIV work, and I love working across disciplines."

Holmes founded the UW Center for AIDS & STD in 1989 to help fight the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. The center now oversees $50 million in grants each year.

"We're very excited," said Paul Ramsey, dean of the School of Medicine. "He's a pioneer in global health, and he's a world leader in AIDS and STD."

Holmes earned a medical degree from Cornell University in 1963 and a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Hawaii in 1967. He served as chief of medicine at Harborview Medical Center in the 1980s.

Seattle is home to other leading global-health institutions, including the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute and PATH, a nonprofit working in developing countries. The new department will come under the joint umbrella of the UW School of Medicine and the School of Public Health and Community Medicine.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com