The epidemiologist who successfully worked to eradicate smallpox in the 1970s stressed the importance of advancing science to reach all of the corners of the world.

William Foege, former director of several national organizations including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was the featured speaker in Monday’s Norman Borlaug Lecture “Celebrating Science and its Applications.”

The annual lecture, named after Borlaug – a Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the World Food Prize – features various speakers who have made significant contributions to the world of science.

“It wasn’t about why we decided to have [Foege] there, but who he is as a person,” said Pat Miller, program manager for the lecture committee.

Foege spoke about the future of science in the United States and said in the past, humans were simply learning the alphabet of biology.

Now, he said, they’re learning to write with it.

He cautioned, however, that if the United States continues to “put restrictions on biology, we will not advance, and will eventually fall behind.”

“We don’t seem to realize this is happening,” Foege said.

The application of what scientists know to what the world needs brings up a hope he has for the future of biology.

He said he hopes to see the day when a child can go in to his doctor’s office and have his or her genome examined for a tailor-made vaccine that will have the ability to eliminate the diseases the child is most likely to have.

Foege stressed the importance of good agriculture and good health, especially because 55 percent of people who die of diseases also experienced some malnutrition. Good nutrition is the best preventive measure for diseases, he said.

Foege brought up the example of a 19-year-old Nigerian woman whose health problems are so complex that they seem impossible to solve.

He said although it may be difficult to continue work in the face of despair, it is necessary to enter with a positive attitude and the mindset of: “This is how we’re going to solve it.”

He said the way today’s information and the advancement of science is spreading globally, he hopes they will leave a lasting impression and change the state of democracy.

“My hope is that it will be known as a time that we find balance between freedom and equality, and if not that, at least equity,” Foege said.