Book by Dr. Elias Zerhouni, MD and Edward Kritz
$25.95   ●   6- x 9-inch Hardback   ●  280 pages   ●   ISBN  978-1493090624

Disease Knows No Politics, the memoir of former NIH director Dr. Elias Zerhouni, starts in the humble beginnings of Nedroma, Algeria, a tiny city tucked away in the mountains. Zerhouni’s early years were marked by the violent Algerian war for independence, and his family narrowly avoided execution by terrorists sympathetic to French colonial rule. In the aftermath of Algeria’s newly earned autonomy, Zerhouni came of age and found a calling in medicine. Radiology, which was then a budding specialty, took him to the United States. He came to Johns Hopkins medical school in the 1970s, with just his wife (also a physician), several hundred dollars, and little ability to speak English. While learning the language, he blazed forward with his radiology training. Ultimately, his journey in academia and research yielded immense discoveries that benefited patient care, saved lives, and was matched by his entrepreneurial successes.

All this set the stage for Zerhouni to be chosen as NIH director in 2002 by President George W. Bush, ushering in a tenure that would be defined by boldness, resilience, and innovation. Zerhouni navigated pandemic threats such as SARS, a conflict-of-interest crisis, the stem cell debate, and attempts by outside groups to politically interfere with NIH. Following his departure from NIH, he ventured worldwide as a presidential envoy, worked for the Gates Foundation, and, later, charted a course in pharma and biotech. The memoir ends with Zerhouni still in the midst of his career, having founded a cutting-edge biotech company, ModeX Therapeutics, charting a path for novel treatments for cancers and infectious diseases.

The strength of this memoir is its candor. When one reads, they feel as if Zerhouni is speaking directly to them, with self-effacing honesty, a nose for irony, and a keen perception of the forces at play within the worlds he traverses. He uses his life story as a platform to illustrate larger shifts in healthcare, government, academia, and science. The narrative also gives readers a vivid picture of the world of biotech and the perilous treadmill of big pharma, while offering practical tips for success in running a business. The lessons in this book aren’t just confined to business or medicine or science, however. Zerhouni masterfully articulates tools that readers of all backgrounds can employ, many of them oriented toward effective leadership. When it comes to the more political elements of this book, including the lesson “Disease Knows No Politics,” Zerhouni triumphs in giving viewpoints that are insightful and nuanced, lacking the kind of inflammatory simplicity which stirs debate rather than solving it. Given his apolitical, multicultural background, Zerhouni has seen the world from many angles, and his solutions can’t help but be thoughtful and multifaceted. Ultimately, whether you are a budding radiologist, political news junkie, avid autobiography reader, or aspiring leader, you’ll find ample value in Disease Knows No Politics, a timely memoir that taps into values and ideas that transcend generations.

About the Authors
Dr. Elias Zerhouni, MD, was the 15th director of the National Institutes of Health under President George W. Bush and a presidential envoy for science and technology under President Barack Obama. Zerhouni is a former global health research senior fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, informal consultant to the World Health Organization, and consultant to the White House medical team for President Ronald Reagan. Zerhouni is currently president of OPKO Health and co-founder and chairman of OPKO’s ModeX Therapeutics.

Edward Kriz is a nonfiction author, who specializes in science and politics, and has coauthored for former university heads, political leaders, accomplished scientists, and business titans.

Introduction

“First and foremost, I believe that disease knows no politics.”

I spoke these words with conviction during my testimony for the Senate confirmation hearing in 2002 that would usher in my tenure as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). For me, these words would be a guiding star as I steered the NIH through stormy political waters, including the embryonic stem cell research debate. As director, I believed the agency’s mission was sacred. The NIH needed to be at the service of all Americans regardless of their political preferences, race, sexual orientation, religion, or gender. No disease could be off limits.

Among the many lessons I’ve included in this memoir, that disease knows no politics is paramount. It refers to how the NIH should function and how our society should manage its staggeringly dysfunctional healthcare system. To the greatest extent possible, science and public health must be kept separate from partisan politics. Unfortunately, in the present, this fragile modus vivendi has been broken far too often by ill-advised politicians whose narratives, designed to gain or retain power, collide with contradictory scientific evidence. Direct attacks on prominent and respected scientists and government agencies have become worryingly frequent. Likewise, I’ve also witnessed scientists who have not hesitated to inject their political views into issues they fail to fully comprehend. Despite the changing norms, the NIH and other key government health agencies must be kept above politics, as disease knows none and can affect every one of us regardless of our party affiliation.

Accordingly, this book is for Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and those without party affiliation. It’s for scientists and doctors and those without any scientific or medical background. Here, no reader is off limits.

Meanwhile, I provide readers with a counterpunch to lies and conspiracy theories aimed at the NIH and America’s scientific community. These falsehoods are damaging, and they breed a distrust that can, in turn, lead patients to abstain from necessary medical care, including vaccines.

Meanwhile, when it comes to medical care, tragically, our health care system has become captive to powerful special interests, supported by, in my view, ill-advised partisan policies that have been promulgated largely by specific members of the US Congress. Patients themselves, the ultimate supposed beneficiaries of our care, have no true place at the table. It’s politics and failed policy that are shaping the treatment of disease. When I immigrated to the United States in 1975, I saw its health care system as the best in the world. Regrettably, I no longer believe this to be the case.

By illustrating my life story, including my career in academia, government, and industry, I highlight the negative and positive transformations in US health care and science. I give a sense of the forces at play in and the reality of these institutions and extract lessons applicable to life and work. Accordingly, this book can also serve entrepreneurs, politicians, scientists, doctors, academics, and other professionals looking to improve their lives and those of others.

Finally, in recounting my immigrant journey, starting with its Algerian origins, I want readers to understand that only in America could I have risen so high. I owe much of my success to the greatness of this country and all the rest to my wife and tireless supporter, Nadia. America rewards merit and opens the door for immigrants like me to make lasting contributions that benefit all citizens. I want readers to understand that all I’ve achieved would not have been possible if America had closed its doors to immigrants of talent. If we want the creative minds, the leaders, the entrepreneurs, and the reformers of tomorrow to come to our shores, America must embrace policies that welcome their arrival.