DIA, founded as the Drug Information Association, announced today the recipients of the 2020 DIA Inspire Awards. These awards combine recognition of those individuals who have provided outstanding contributions to advancing global health with volunteer service awards that honor exceptional leadership, commitment to service, and advancement of DIA’s mission.

The 2020 Global Inspire Award recipients are as follows:

Chair’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Health for significant and innovative contributions to the cause:

• Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance

The Global Connector Award for meritorious service through a leadership role that has advanced the mission of DIA and promoted global collaboration:

• Agnès St. Raymond, MD, Head of International Affairs, European Medicines Agency (EMA)

The Excellence in Service Award for consistent, outstanding service as a DIA volunteer, contributing to the advancement of DIA’s mission:

• Alan Hochberg, Process Development Leader in Safety Risk Management, F. Hoffman-La Roche

The Community Engagement Award for dedication to peer-to-peer growth and knowledge-sharing:

• Matt Baldwin, Senior Biostatistician, Advance Research Associates, Inc
• Joan Buenconsejo, PhD, MS, Director and Biometrics Team Leader, AstraZeneca

Author of the Year for the author or group of authors whose article made the greatest impact on readership, as determined by the most downloads in the preceding issue year for DIA’s peer-reviewed journal Therapeutic Innovation and Regulatory Science:

• Melissa Suprin, MBA, Head of Quality Risk Management, Pfizer
• “Quality Risk Management Framework: Guidance for Successful Implementation of Risk Management in Clinical Development”

The 2020 DIA Americas Inspire Awards Recipients are as follows:

Chair’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Health in the Americas:

• Lisa LaVange, PhD, Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Janet Woodcock, MD, Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA

Excellence in Service Award:

• Nancy Pire Smerkanich, DrSc, MS, Assistant Professor, Department of Regulatory and Quality Sciences, University of Southern California
• Annette Stemhagen, DrPH, FISPE, Senior Vice President, Safety, Epidemiology, Registries, and Risk Management, UBC
• Karla Childers, MS, Senior Director, Strategic Projects, Office of the Chief Medical Officer, Johnson & Johnson

“The DIA Inspire Awards recognize the commitment to health and well-being for all that DIA members and volunteers show each day. This year’s winners are improving healthcare and are dedicated to creating and sharing knowledge through collaboration for the benefit of the world. On behalf of DIA, I want to congratulate these award winners for their success and thank them for the contributions they have and will continue to make to their respective fields and society at large,” said Barbara Lopez Kunz, Global Chief Executive, DIA.

These awards will be presented as part of the upcoming DIA 2020 Global Annual Meeting, held virtually, June 14-18. To learn more and register for the DIA 2020 Global Annual Meeting, visit DIAglobal.org/DIA2020. For live updates, attendees and the public may follow and join the conversation on Twitter, @DrugInfoAssn, using the hashtag #DIA2020.