CENTER FOR DISEASE DYNAMICS, ECONOMICS & POLICY ANNOUNCES INDEPENDENCE

FOR RELEASE: December 1, 2010

CONTACT: Andrea Titus, Communications Manager, CDDEP, 202-328-5152, titus@cddep.org

 

WASHINGTON  –  The  Center  for  Disease  Dynamics,  Economics  &  Policy  (CDDEP),  formerly  a  research  unit  of  Resources  for  the  Future,  has  announced  its  independent  founding  and  launched  a  new  website  (www.cddep.org).  

The  transition  establishes  the  Center  as  a  501(c)(3)  organization,  enabling  CDDEP  to  grow  in  its  research  efforts  while  maintaining  its  focus  on  developing  innovative  policy  solutions  to  reduce  the  impact  of  infectious  and  non-­‐communicable  diseases  worldwide.    

“We  are  delighted  that  this  exemplary  research  center,  skillfully  led  by  Ramanan  Laxminarayan,  has  matured  into  an  organization  with  the  intellectual  rigor  and  financial  base  to  stand  on  its  own,”  said  RFF  President  Phil  Sharp.  “RFF  takes  pride  in  its  role  in  incubating  and  developing  CDDEP  and  we  hope  to  remain  closely  affiliated  in  the  future.”  

As  a  Senior  Fellow  at  RFF,  Laxminarayan  pioneered  the  integration  of  epidemiological  models  and  economic  analysis,  particularly  in  addressing  the  public  health  problems  of  antibiotic  resistance  and  malaria.  

“This  new  phase  of  our  life  as  an  organization  brings  exciting  challenges,  and  we  consider  this  development  a  tribute  to  the  quality  of  CDDEP’s  research  and  its  policy  impact,”  said  Laxminarayan.  “We  look  forward  to  a  close  relationship  with  RFF  as  our  team  expands  its  work  in  disease  modeling  and  analysis.”      

Nobel  prize-­‐winning  economist  Kenneth  Arrow,  who  has  been  closely  associated  with  CDDEP’s  work  on  antibiotic  resistance  and  malaria,  said  of  the  organization’s  founding,  "CDDEP  is  unique  in  its  combination  of  knowledge  and  talents  for  all  the  fields—economics,  biology,  and  public  health—needed  to  deal  with  the  rapidly  developing  and  increasingly  dangerous  emergence  of  drug  resistance.  CDDEP  and  its  collaborators  have  already  proven  that  they  can  identify  the  key  issues  and  devise  innovative  solutions  to  the  world’s  major  challenges  in  all  facets  of  disease  control."  

To  accompany  its  launch,  CDDEP  has  unveiled  a  new  website  with  more  than  200  publications  and  dozens  of  research  tools,  including  dynamic  graphics  and  presentations:  

http://www.cddep.org.    Ongoing  CDDEP  projects  include  Extending  the  Cure  (ETC)—a  research  and  consultative  effort  that  looks  at  policy  solutions  to  the  growing  problem  of  antibiotic  resistance,  the  Global  Antibiotic  Resistance  Partnership  (GARP),  and  the  Malaria  Atlas  Project—Elimination  (MAPe).    

 

About  CDDEP  The  Center  for  Disease  Dynamics,  Economics  &  Policy  (CDDEP)  produces  independent,  multidisciplinary  research  to  advance  the  health  and  well  being  of  people  in  the  United  States  and  around  the  world.      CDDEP  builds  networks  of  experts  in  a  range  of  disciplines  –including  economics,  epidemiology,  disease  modeling,  risk  analysis,  and  statistics—to  produce  policy-­‐oriented,  actionable  research  on  malaria,  antibiotic  resistance,  disease  control  priorities,  environmental  health,  the  adverse  effects  of  alcohol  and  tobacco,  and  other  health  issues.  With  offices  in  Washington,  DC  and  New  Delhi,  CDDEP  aims  to  bridge  the  gaps  between  research  and  policy  development  while  developing  synergies  between  research  and  policy  in  the  United  States  and  low-­‐  and  middle-­‐income  countries.    About  RFF  Resources  for  the  Future,  founded  in  1952,  is  an  independent  and  nonpartisan  institution  devoted  to  research  and  publishing  about  critical  issues  in  environmental  and  natural  resource  policy.