Newswise — East Detroit, MI September 2, 2011: The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) President and Executive Director Virginia T. Ladd has received the prestigious Heritage Award of the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Alumni Association. The award was presented August 25 during the 2011 Honors and Awards ceremony, at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, by Michael J. Klag, M.D., M.P.H., Dean.
The JHU Heritage Award reflects gratitude and appreciation to those alumni and members of the Hopkins family who have contributed outstanding service to the progress of the University over an extended period of time. A letter to Mrs. Ladd signed by Ronald J. Daniels, President, Johns Hopkins University, and Raymond W. Snow, President, Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association, states, "Your dedication to the continuing progress of the Johns Hopkins University has created a lasting legacy for Johns Hopkins and future students."
Also noted by Snow during the awards banquet, Ladd’s recognition stems from a lifelong dedication to a singular goal of having autoimmune diseases classified as a disease category. In 1991, Ladd founded AARDA, its primary goal being the recognition of autoimmune disease as a category of disease. In less than ten years after AARDA’s founding, largely the result of Ladd’s tireless advocacy, Congress appointed a new inter-agency committee, the Autoimmune Diseases Coordinating Committee (ADCC), with the goal of creating increased collaboration and research around the newly recognized disease category of autoimmune. Additionally, in 2001 Ladd was instrumental in the creation of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Autoimmune Disease Research, the first and only one such center in the United States.
In accepting this Johns Hopkins Heritage Award, Mrs. Ladd acknowledged the assistance of dedicated individuals, medical professionals and others, who have made possible these years of support for Johns Hopkins University in the areas of autoimmune disease research.
About the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA)
The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association is dedicated to the eradication of autoimmune diseases and the alleviation of suffering and the socioeconomic impact of autoimmunity through fostering and facilitating collaboration in the areas of education, public awareness, research, and patient services in an effective, ethical and efficient manner.
AARDA is the only national nonprofit health agency dedicated to bringing a national focus to autoimmunity, the major cause of serious chronic diseases. Approximately 50 million Americans, 20 percent of the population or one in five people, suffer from autoimmune diseases. Women are more likely than men to be affected; some estimates say that 75 percent of those affected--some 37.5 million people--are women. Still, with these statistics, autoimmunity is rarely discussed as a women's health issue.
For more information on autoimmunity and/or AARDA, contact AARDA by phone at (586) 776-3900 or on the web at www.aarda.org.
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