Press Releases

ASI Wins $8 Million in Global Health Communications Awards

DURHAM, N.C., Nov. 9, 2002—Analytical Sciences, Inc., (ASI), a leader in the application of technology to promote health communications across the world, has been awarded $8 million by The Johns Hopkins University Center for Communications Programs (JHU/CCP) to support two high-profile health communications projects sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

ASI is a JHU/CCP subcontractor on the $25 million "Healthy Russia 2020" contract, a five-year health communication project created to improve the overall health of people in Russia by the year 2020. Johns Hopkins also selected ASI to provide information technology support for Information and Knowledge for Optimal Health, or INFO, a $33 million, five-year international health communications project focused on family planning and reproductive health. ASI's Information Technology and Scientific Data Management (ITSDM) Division is supporting both projects.

"With these new awards, ASI is expanding its recognition as a company dedicated to enhancing the health of people worldwide through the use of innovative science, technology and health solutions," said ASI President and CEO Donald A. Holzworth. "Our strong relationships with U.S. public health agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as with world-class academic health research organizations like Johns Hopkins University, have been key to expanding our international presence. It is very exciting for us to start helping the USAID foster a healthier world."

ASI Supports "Healthy Russia 2020" Project
With Information Technology Services
ASI will support JHU/CCP on "Healthy Russia 2020" by designing an Internet Web portal to promote healthy behaviors across the Eurasian country. ASI will design, deploy and assist in maintaining the Internet-based portal, which will be built in the first year for use by citizens, policy makers, health-care administrators, health professionals and other stakeholders. The portal will give users an online platform in which they can obtain information and collaborate on solutions to numerous health issues. It will be created in English and Russian and will also allow users to exchange ideas on a variety of health-related topics.

The team supporting Healthy Russia 2020 will be based in Moscow. ASI plans to hire several programmers and analysts in Moscow to support the project in collaboration with ASI employees from the company's Durham, N.C., and Bethesda and Silver Spring, Md., offices. Eventually, ASI will turn over its operation to a non-profit, non-governmental organization, or NGO, for ongoing maintenance and expansion. ASI will then serve as a technical advisor to the NGO.

ASI to Create Web Portal for INFO Project
ASI will provide all of the information technology (IT) support for INFO, which includes designing a Web portal to collect and disseminate information on family planning and reproductive health to a diverse, international audience. ASI's information-sharing and network-building platforms will enable worldwide health professional organizations, health information organizations in developing countries, other USAID-support organizations and USAID country missions to communicate with each other and to contribute to a comprehensive base of knowledge in these health areas.

The INFO Program succeeds the USAID Population Information Program (PIP), the previous name of the global health project. The name was changed to place a stronger emphasis on the use of technology as a medium to disseminate health information. The INFO project supports USAID's mission by giving people in underdeveloped countries in Africa and South America access to a broader range of information and services on the topics of family planning and reproductive health.

ASI is adding programmers, database specialists and Web designers who will work both onsite at Johns Hopkins' facilities and in ASI's Bethesda and Silver Spring offices.

"Healthy Russia 2020 and INFO are especially exciting for us in that they will rely so heavily on Internet technologies to improve the health of international populations," said Timothy Schur, ASI's division director responsible for the work. "Traditionally, these types of projects have depended more on treatment providers and media campaigns to disseminate information and educate people about health issues. Our ability to use new technologies to enhance the flow of knowledge in every direction around the world will add tremendous value to the success of these projects."

About ASI

ASI is a professional health services company dedicated to enhancing human health through innovative science, technology and knowledge solutions. Founded in 1983, ASI conducts research and provides technical and professional services to help government and industry clients identify and solve problems affecting human health. ASI scientists and specialists offer expertise in public health research, research administration and science management, health communications, information technology, scientific data management, biostatistics and clinical research. ASI serves clients in health care and public health, biodefense, science management and research, and civil government markets.