RANA PEDIATRIC FUND

The John W. Downing Jr. Lectureship honors the retired Howard University pediatric cardiologist. Due to Dr. Downing’s long-standing advocacy for the disadvantaged and underserved, this lectureship will highlight poverty and its effects on health outcomes. In the inaugural June 22, 2018 lecture, Wendy Ellis, MPH the Project Director and Co-Principal Investigator at the Building Community Resilience collaborative, which is based at the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health discussed the Building Community Resilience (BCR) Collaborative.Dr. John W. Downing served as a Pediatric cardiologist and Howard University Professor of Pediatrics for 3 decades and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health from 1986 to 1994. Highly respected as a clinical scholar, teacher and leader, he is best known for his kindness, fairness and all around respectful demeanor. He made many scholarly contributions to advance knowledge in Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology including numerous journal articles and authoring the book, “Pediatric Cardiology Case Studies.” He is a 1957 honors graduate of Morehouse College and earned his MD from Meharry Medical College in 1961, later training in pediatric cardiology at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center of the University of Cincinnati. In the community, Dr. Downing has served as chair of the High School Heart Research Committee and the Professional Education Committee of the American Heart Association/Nation’s Capital Affiliate, chaired the D.C. Mayor’s Task Force on Child Safety & Fatality and made TV and radio appearances on health issues. Active in his church, Dr. Downing served as Church Council member, deacon, pianist and teacher.

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