The first Henry I. Miller Award for Excellence in Public Health Education was presented to Hoover research fellow Henry Miller on May 7, 2008, in New York City by the American Council on Science and Health.
The award was established to recognize physicians and scientists who have, by their writing and media appearances, rendered exceptional service in promoting sound science in public health.
Speaking at the award luncheon were the Wall Street Journal’s Melanie Kirkpatrick and Ned Crabb, ABC News’ John Stossel, and radio commentator Barry Farber, all of whom have worked with Miller during the past two decades.
Miller, who boasts M.S. (Molecular Biology) and M.D. degrees, writes prolifically for the op-ed pages of many top U.S. and foreign newspapers, magazines, and online publications on the areas on which he focuses at Hoover: pharmaceutical development, the new biotechnology, models for regulatory reform, and the emergence of new viral diseases. He also contributes articles regularly to scientific and medical journals.
Miller joined the Food and Drug Administration in 1979 and served in a number of posts. He was the medical reviewer for the first genetically engineered drugs evaluated by the FDA and was instrumental in the rapid licensing of human insulin and human growth hormone. Thereafter, he was a special assistant to the FDA commissioner, with responsibility for biotechnology issues; from 1989 to 1993 was the founding director of the FDA's Office of Biotechnology. During his government service, Miller participated frequently on various expert and policy panels as a representative of the FDA or the U.S. government. As a government official, Miller received numerous awards and citations.
Since coming to the Hoover Institution, Dr. Miller has become well known not only for contributions to scholarly journals but also for articles and books that make science, medicine and technology accessible to nonexperts.
His work has been published widely and in many languages. Monographs include Policy Controversy in Biotechnology: An Insider's View (Austin, Tex: R.G. Landes, 1997), Biotechnology Regulation: The Unacceptable Costs of Excessive Regulation (London: Social Affairs Unit, 1997), To America's Health: A Model for Reform of the Food and Drug Administration (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 2000), and The Frankenfood Myth: How Protest and Politics Threaten the Biotech Revolution (New York: Praeger Publishers, 2004).
Barron's selected The Frankenfood Myth as one of the 25 Best Books of 2004. In addition, Dr. Miller has published extensively in a broad spectrum of publications worldwide, including The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, Science, the Nature family of journals, Chronicle of Higher Education, Forbes, National Review, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Financial Times. He is a regulator commentator on the nationally syndicated John Batchelor radio program and appears frequently on TV.
The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) is a consumer education consortium founded in 1978 that is concerned with issues related to food, nutrition, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle, the environment, and health. ACSH is an independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization.
