Dr. Michael Kron Awarded Prestigious Jefferson Science Fellowship

Michael Kron, MD, MS, professor of medicine (infectious disease) at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) has been selected as a Jefferson Science Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Kron is only the third physician to be selected in the program’s history.

Jefferson Science Fellows spend one year on assignment at the U.S. Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as science advisors on foreign policy issues. Fellows also have the opportunity to travel to U.S. embassies and missions overseas. At the conclusion of the fellowship year, and upon return to their home institution, Fellows continue to serve as a resource to the State Department and USAID for an additional five years.

Dr. Kron practices at Froedtert Hospital and Froedtert Health St. Joseph’s Hospital – West Bend, specializing in adult infectious diseases. Dr. Kron’s research at MCW’s Biotechnology and Bioengineering Center has focused on the treatment and immunopathogenesis of tropical parasitic diseases. He leads MCW’s Global Health Pathway for medical students, and has coordinated and led multiple medical student visits to the Philippines to practice medicine in that nation’s health system.

Dr. Kron also has been awarded an MCW Faculty Vitality Award. The Faculty Vitality Award will support Dr. Kron’s activities working with USAID/the U.S. Department of State in conjunction with his receipt of the Jefferson Science Fellowship. The Faculty Vitality Award is an annual award designed to support formal scholarly endeavors undertaken on a concentrated but less intensive basis than a traditional sabbatical, allowing for the continuation of other professional responsibilities concurrent with the period of the award.

For the 2013 program year, the U.S. Department of State and USAID will host 13 Jefferson Science Fellows; the fellowship begins in mid-August.