birth_place image_size nationality article_title birth_date spouse residence prizes image employer name occupation alma_mater
decorah , iowa 200px american william foege
 12 march 1936 paula foege usa conrad n. hilton humanitarian prize macarthur genius grant william h. foege.jpg centers for disease control william h. foege physician epidemiologist pacific -lrb- md -rrb- harvard school of public health -lrb- mph lutheran -rrb- university -lrb- ba -rrb- university of washington
william foege

william herbert foege m.d. , m.p.h. -lrb- ; born 1936 in decorah , iowa -rrb- is an american epidemiologist who is credited with `` devising the global strategy that led to the eradication of smallpox in the late 1970s '' .
foege also `` played a central role '' in efforts that greatly increased immunization rates in developing countries in the 1980s .
his book `` house on fire : the fight to eradicate smallpox , '' published in june 2011 , speaks to the triumph of modern science , medicine , and public health over a disease responsible for killing , blinding , and scarring millions over centuries of human history .
