Department News
Nature Article Quotes Rasenick on Scientists and Public Policy

The next issue of the journal Nature will include an article in which Mark Rasenick, Ph.D., is quoted. The article is about scientists involved in public policy. Rasenick, a 1999-2000 Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow, is a lifelong peace and justice activist, and has been actively involved in organized efforts to combine science and social justice. As a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow, he served as a staff member to Senator Edward M. Kennedy and advised the Senator on issues related to the Senator's position as ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He was involved in drafting mental health legislation, parts of which later became law as part of the Children's Health Act of 2000.

Dr. Rasenick also was quoted in a recent Associated Press article on current efforts to open trade between the United States and Cuba. In the article, Dr. Rasenick notes that although the long-standing trade embargo against selling food to Cuba does not bar the sale of drugs, American drug companies have avoided the prospect because necessary licenses are too hard to obtain.