Boston, MA – November 7, 2006 – Wentworth Institute of Technology today announced that Professor Dr. Robert F. Moran, FCCM, FACB, FIUPAC, Department of Applied Math and Sciences, has recently been appointed to support President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which is the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease. Dr. Moran will utilize his expertise in laboratory operations and restricted-resource regions, along with that of his fellow volunteers, to develop standards for labs in the focus locations. These standards will assure that high levels of quality in diagnostic and therapeutic testing will be established and maintained in those regions where AIDS directly affects close to 50 percent of the HIV-positive population.

The plan involves a five-year, $15 billion, multifaceted approach to combating the disease in more than 120 countries around the world, with a focus on Botswana, Cite d’Ivoire, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia. By 2008, the Emergency Plan aims to provide support for the prevention of seven million new HIV infections, treatment for two million HIV-infected people, and care for 10 million people affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans and vulnerable children.

Dr. Moran has been volunteering with the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) for 40 years, and he served on the Board of Directors of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) and as the Secretary of the Board, before coming to Wentworth as a faculty member.

CLSI, originally incorporated as the NCCLS, is an organization that often collaborates with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and their activities in disease control. CLSI is a voluntary consensus standards organization composed of representatives from the major constituencies impacting health-related testing: the federal government, healthcare and technology professionals, and commercial corporations that manufacture testing instruments and equipment. CLSI has written hundreds of guiding procedures in quality assurance, clinical utility and laboratory operations.

Wentworth Institute of Technology
Founded in 1904, Wentworth Institute of Technology is an independent, co-educational nationally ranked institution offering career-focused education through 19 bachelor degree programs in areas such as architecture, computer science, design, engineering, engineering technology and management of technology. For over a century, Wentworth Institute of Technology has been a leader in technical education known for its academic excellence, community service, and support for the economic growth of the region. For more information, please visit www.wit.edu.

PEPFAR
The U. S. Global AIDS Coordinator's mission is to lead implementation of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Emergency Plan/PEFPAR). The Emergency Plan is the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease - a five-year, $15 billion, multifaceted approach to combating the disease in more than 120 countries around the world.