ASH President Applauds Confirmation of Dr. Brett Giroir for Assistant Secretary for Health

(WASHINGTON, February 16, 2018) — Brett P. Giroir, MD, was sworn in this week as the United States Assistant Secretary for Health. In this role, Dr. Giroir will serve as the primary advisor for the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), overseeing 12 core public health offices, including the Office of the Surgeon General, the Public Health Service, and the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a uniformed service of more than 6,700 health professionals who serve in the federal government. Prior to his confirmation, Dr. Giroir served as an Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics, Tropical Medicine, and Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and was the President and CEO of a Houston-based immunotherapy research lab.

The following statement is from American Society of Hematology (ASH) President Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH, of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago:

“Dr. Giroir takes office at a time of great promise for patient care, as advances in immunotherapies, genome editing, and other new techniques are changing the treatment paradigm for blood disorders and giving us the tools to address public health challenges affecting patients with hematologic conditions. For example, highly anticipated new approaches to treating and managing sickle cell disease have the potential to drastically improve outcomes for people with this debilitating disease, yet many lack access to appropriate care. ASH looks forward to working with Dr. Giroir to raise awareness of sickle cell disease and strengthen HHS’ interagency task force on sickle cell disease to help coordinate activities among agencies that would help to deliver care advancements faster, more economically, and more efficiently both in the United States and around the world.” 

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) (www.hematology.org) is the world’s largest professional society of hematologists dedicated to furthering the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the blood. For more than 50 years, the Society has led the development of hematology as a discipline by promoting research, patient care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. ASH publishes Blood (www.bloodjournal.org), the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online. In 2016, ASH launched Blood Advances (www.bloodadvances.org), an online, peer-reviewed open-access journal.

Contact:
Stephen Fitzmaurice, American Society of Hematology
sfitzmaurice@hematology.org; 202-552-4927