December 13, 2002

First Durant fellow named

Kristian R. Olson, MD, of MGH Internal Medicine, was recognized as the first recipient of the Thomas S. Durant, MD, Fellowship in Refugee Medicine Dec. 3 at a special ceremony in the Trustees Room.

As a Durant fellow, Olson (right) will travel to London to study tropical diseases, after which he will go to the Thailand-Burma border to care for refugees affected by the political turmoil in that region. He has traveled extensively in developing nations and worked in malaria research in Africa with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. He also is active in the Physicians for Human Rights Asylum Network.

The Durant Fellowship, established last year, honors the legacy of a long-respected MGH physician and humanitarian who exemplified how one person can make a difference by offering compassion and care to refugees and victims of war and disaster. Designed to foster in its recipients a sense of commitment to populations in distress, the Durant Fellowship provides funding for education to assist in the prevention and treatment of disease among refugees throughout the world.