Drexel’s Arthur L. Frank Receives Ramazzini Award for Career Devoted to Occupational Health
Dr. Frank, center, honoree of the 2016 Ramazzini Award from the Collegium Ramazzini
November 10, 2016
For his outstanding contributions to safeguard public health, Arthur L. Frank, MD, PhD, professor and chair emeritus in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University, has received the 2016 Ramazzini Award from the Collegium Ramazzini, an international academy comprised of 180 internationally renowned experts in the fields of occupational and environmental health.
Dr. Frank was honored for his “distinguished record of occupational health and safety research as well as his advocacy and service in the promotion of better occupational safety and health in developing countries and in the international fight to ban the use of asbestos,” according to the Collegium Ramazzini.
In late October, Dr. Frank and his family traveled to Carpi, Italy for the annual Ramazzini Days, where the Mayor of Carpi and leaders from the Collegium Ramazzini conferred the award. Dr. Frank gave the annual Ramazzini Lecture at the award ceremony.
Dr. Frank, far right, honoree of the 2016 Ramazzini Award from the Collegium Ramazzini
"I am humbled to be honored with this award from my colleagues who have recognized me for a lifetime of work," said Dr. Frank.
The group cited Dr. Frank’s key and tireless contributions to the international effort to prevent asbestos-related disease by banning its use worldwide. The academy highlighted Dr. Frank’s commitment to translating science into preventive action, recalling his work in Kentucky with coal miners and agricultural workers and his recent assistance to occupational health programs in developing countries including, among others, India, Mongolia, and China.
“It is a great privilege for the Collegium Ramazzini to bestow this well-deserved honor upon our friend, colleague and public health hero,” said the Collegium in a news release. “Dr. Frank has worked for over 40 years as a physician, scientist and leader in occupational and environmental health. He has continually dedicated his work to advocate for better working conditions for people all over the world, thus embodying and extending the great legacy of Bernardino Ramazzini.”