Brooke Ellison Named “Young Global Leader”
Selection recognizes professional achievement and potential to shape future of world
|
|
Brooke Ellison, PhD, MPP |
STONY BROOK, N.Y., March 18, 2014 – Brooke Ellison, PhD, MPP, a Stony Brook University professor, stem cell research advocate and public speaker, has been selected by the World Economic Forum as a 2014 Young Global Leader (YGL). This honor is bestowed each year by the Forum to recognize the most distinguished leaders under the age of 40 from every region in the world because of their achievements and contributions to society.
At the age of 11, Dr. Ellison was involved in an accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator. Despite her physical situation, she has been determined to live her life and to do so in a way in which she could contribute the lives of others. Dr. Ellison, Assistant Professor in the Department of Healthcare Policy and Management in Stony Brook’s School of Health Technology and Management (SHTM), is also the Associate Director of the SHTM’s Center for Community Engagement and Leadership Development.She has been immersed in the stem cell field for more than 15 years.
In her capacity at Stony Brook, Dr. Ellison views the stem cell field from legislative, ethical, and social standpoints. She has focused her research on the intersection of medicine, healthcare, and society.
“The honor of being selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders is a distinction for which I am both humbled and proud,” said Dr. Ellison. “But, the selection itself is only part of this honor. The real privilege is in the work that lies ahead in the opportunity to leverage the World Economic Forum’s influence to make the world a more just place.”
The Form is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.YGLs are fully involved in the Forum’s meetings, initiatives, and research, and interact with the Forum’s wider multi-stakeholder community.
“It is my hope that through my involvement in the World Economic Forum and the Young Global Leaders, I can bring even greater attention to the difficult circumstances people face from all aspects of society, and, in so doing, bring even greater attention to the work that is done here at Stony Brook to help alleviate challenging physical circumstances and seek cures,” added Dr. Ellison.
Each year thousands of candidates worldwide are nominated and assessed according to the Forum’s rigorous YGL selection criteria. In 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were nominated. A total of 214 were chosen as YGLs, including 48 individuals from North America. The candidates are screened by a selection committee chaired by H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Other individuals selected as 2014 YGLs include Charlize Theron, an Oscar-winning actress and founder of the Africa Outreach Project; and Hosain Rahman, founder of Jawbone, one of the largest venture capital-backed consumer electronics companies in the world.
About Brooke Ellison
Brooke Ellison graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 2000. She continued her education there, receiving a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. In 2012, she completed her PhD at Stony Brook University. Her PhD dissertation was titled “Lifelines: Stem Cell Research in a Globalized World,” which investigated the development of stem cell research policy in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and China.
Dr. Ellison’s publications include “Making ESCRO committees work in New York State” and “Assessing the risk of Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome in egg donation: Implications for stem cell research” in The American Journal of Bioethics, and “Communicating Hope: the bridge between science and the future it creates” in Cell Stem Cell. Additionally, Dr. Ellison and her mother, Jean Ellison, published a book titled The Brooke Ellison Story, which documents their family’s experiences from the day of Dr. Ellison’s accident until her graduation from Harvard.
