b'By: Angela GilesPublic health solutions through diplomacy, humanityIf science is Dr. Peter Hartsocks vocation, then history is his avocation.In 1990, he was one of In his world, the two are forever interwoven. the first people to visit the Hartsock originally came to the Berg to get a true liberal arts andformer Soviet Union to sciences education, or in the words of Gandhi, science with humanity.report on and help develop That is precisely what he received, and hes profoundly grateful for theepidemiologic and related multitude of ways it informed his thinking and influenced his lifes work. prevention research on AIDS interventions that focused on drug users. That set the stage for more than three decades of research Ive used history in everything Ive done, including lessons from thepartnerships with Russia and Ukraine.past to figure strategies for overcoming political and other obstacles toThe Russia partnership, among others, exemplifies Hartsocks life-saving research, said the history major who doubled up on sciencecommitment to health diplomacy as an effective way to foster courses, too. international cooperation relative to health issues, such as the For nearly four decades, Hartsock, 69, has confronted some of theHIV/AIDS pandemic.worlds most controversial, complex and far-reaching health crisesOne of Hartsocks crowning achievements was co-authoringwithfrom his position as a commissioned captain with the U.S. Public HealthDr. C. Everett Koopthe historic, and for its time, provocative Surgeon Service and director and research scientist officer for the NationalGenerals Report on AIDS in 1986. He also worked with the surgeon Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Healthgeneral on related issues such as development of safer syringe (NIH). He has spent the bulk of his career traveling the world, workingtechnology and needle/syringe exchange programs.in HIV/AIDS epidemiology/intervention, drug abuse and other emerging diseases. On many other occasions, Hartsock has taken on big public health His Heidelberg years helped him develop an interdisciplinary worldissues in much the same way the now-deceased Koop confronted AIDS view and approach to solving problems.with social conscience. Hes not afraid to opine on controversial health topics in the media. These days, he is tackling the contemporary issue It helped me realize that there is far more than just a bottom linethat has many taking sides: whether or not to vaccinate children.to what one does and that an individual can make a difference,I try hard to write about reality, he said, regardless of how unpleasant Hartsock said. it may be. But ignoring it leads to many a bad event.4|Heidelberg University Bulletin'