The School of Public Health Mourns
Doug Passaro

PUBLIC HEALTH LEADER DR. DOUGLAS PASSARO, 43

Dr. Douglas Passaro, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, who was at the forefront of state and city efforts to prepare the public health system for rapid response to terrorist or biohazard events, died suddenly at his Oak Park home Monday. He was 43.

He had been an outbreak investigator with the Epidemic Intelligence Service for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before completing an Infectious Diseases Fellowship at Stanford University in 2001. During his fellowship, he directed California’s Unexplained Critical Illness and Death Project and became keenly interested in the role of non-traditional surveillance systems in protecting the public’s health.

Passaro came to the UIC School of Public Health the week before the World Trade Center bombings. Following the outbreak of mail-associated anthrax later that year, he served briefly as bioterrorism coordinator for the Illinois Department of Public Health.

He subsequently set up a partnership with IDPH to allow UIC faculty and students to provide the department with services and technical expertise related to preparedness and response for bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases.

In 2003, Passaro led a team of School of Public Health faculty and students participating in TOPOFF 2, the largest terrorism exercise ever conducted in the United States. The congressionally mandated disaster drill tested response capabilities at the city, county, and state levels and identified system gaps.

"Doug Passaro was a superb educator, colleague and friend," said Susan Scrimshaw, dean of the UIC School of Public Health. "He cared passionately about giving our students the skills and experience they need to serve the public. He was a rapidly rising star researcher as well, bringing great expertise to our faculty and to public health in Illinois."

"We all loved him for his wit, intelligence and irreverence," said Dr. Craig S. Conover, medical director of the infectious disease division of the IDPH. "He was a wonderful colleague and a great person."

Jeannette Tandez, a former member of Passaro’s student research team, said, "Dr. Passaro always extended himself for students, whether it was challenging us in the classroom or finding us real-world opportunities to increase our knowledge of public health. He was my mentor and my friend."

Passaro is survived by his wife Sherry Nordstrom and his daughters Natalie and Gina Passaro of Oak Park; his parents Lanny Passaro of Chicago and Cindy Passaro of La Selva Beach, Calif.; his sisters Michele (and Andy) Singer of Baltimore and Leslie (and Chip) Lyon of Denver.

Services will be held Friday, April 22 at 2:00PM at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 460 Lake St. in Oak Park. A memorial fund has been established, and gifts may be sent to: UIF Douglas Passaro Fund, University of Illinois Foundation, Harker Hall, MC 386, 1305 W. Green St., Urbana, IL 61801-2962.

- UIC -

Doug Passaro