PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

Dr Ayub Khan Ommaya, a neurosurgeon who was an internationally known expert on brain injuries and traffic safety, died on 10 July 2008 at his home in Islamabad, Pakistan. Among his many achievements, Dr Ommaya developed the centripetal theory of traumatic brain injury, which allowed scientists to understand and model how brains are affected by blunt force. As chief medical adviser to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and director of its head injury prevention program, he created a model for brain injuries that led to design changes and the development of safety devices in motor vehicles worldwide. He moved to the United States in 1961 as a visiting scientist at the National Institutes of Health and later became an associate neurosurgeon. As a transportation safety expert, he commissioned Injury in America (1985), a report that led to the creation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. He also invented an inflatable collar, similar to an airbag, that attaches to motorcycle helmets as a protection against spinal injury.

Dr Steve Beerman of Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, has been elected as president of the International Life Saving Federation (ILS). The ILS is an international federation representing more than 100 national lifesaving organizations from around the world. ILS leads the worldwide effort to reduce injury and death in, on, or around the water.

Bob Baker has been appointed as the new President & CEO of SMARTRISK. The organization, founded in 1991, is a Canadian national charity dedicated to preventing injuries and saving lives. Mr Baker brings to the position 23 years of experience in the charitable sector, spanning healthcare, social services, and education.

NEW CHILD SAFETY POST IN WALES

Children in Wales (CIW) has been successful in securing a grant through Health Challenge Wales (Welsh Assembly Government) to employ …