James Buffington Jr. and Lois Chapman Buffington Endowment for the Alexander D. Langmuir Prize

When Joanna Buffington, M.D., EIS '90 accepted a position working on hepatitis surveillance and prevention programs at CDC in 1998, she decided to sell the shares of Merck stock she had received as Christmas gifts from her grandparents when she was growing up. Because Merck makes hepatitis vaccines, Dr. Buffington wanted to remove any chance of perceived conflict of interest, so she sold the stock and donated $20,000 to the CDC Foundation to permanently endow the annual Alexander D. Langmuir Prize.

The Alexander D. Langmuir Prize, established in 1966, is awarded each year during the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Annual Conference to a current officer or first year alumnus of the EIS for the best scientific publication. The award consists of a $100 cash prize, an engraved paperweight, a case of ale or beer redolent of the John Snow Pub in London, and an inscription on the permanent plaque at CDC. Creating the endowment gave Dr. Buffington a way to honor her grandparents while ensuring that future EIS officers would be rewarded for their hard work.