Richard A. Cash, creator of oral rehydration therapy, dies at age 83 | News

Cash was born and raised in Milwaukee and developed an interest in global health.

Cash completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed his medical training at New York University School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital in New York before moving to Dhaka, East Pakistan – modern-day Bangladesh – in the late 1960s to work at the Medical Research Laboratory. Cholera.

At CRL, Cash worked with David Nalin to develop and implement oral rehydration therapy for the treatment of cholera and other diarrheal diseases. ORT – which replaces traditional dehydration treatment based on an intravenous drip with a sugar and salt solution – was designed to maximize the survival rate of diarrheal diseases in medically underserved countries.

In the 1970s, Cash helped BRAC, a Bangladesh-based development organization, implement an oral therapy extension program that provided local Bangladeshis with resources and strategies to combat cholera. By showing caregivers how to prepare a simple solution with available ingredients, the program spread ORT beyond the walls of Bangladeshi hospitals.

Nalin emphasized Cash’s commitment to working abroad.

“Number one was his empathy for the countless number of poor developing countries who were left without help at the time,” he said.

Despite eventually returning to the United States and taking a position at HSPH, Cash continued to return to Bangladesh and remained fascinated with South Asian culture. Several former students remember Cash keeping a statue of Sheetala, the Hindu goddess and patron saint of smallpox eradication, in his office.

In addition to his work at HSPH, Cash was also involved with Lakshmi Mittal and the Family South Asia Institute at Harvard.

Tarun Khanna, faculty director of the Mittal Institute and professor at Harvard Business School, said Cash “was a frequent participant in many of the research projects and academic events we organized for the community” and served on the academic steering committee.

Cash, who conducted the first scientifically validated clinical trial of ORT, has been recognized numerous times for his work, winning the Prince Mahidol Award for Public Health in 2006 and the James and Sarah Fries Award for Health Improvement in 2011.

According to the World Health Organization, the global rollout of ORT has saved over 60 million children. In 1978, The Lancet wrote that ORT “was potentially the most important medical advance of this century.”

Ananda S. Bandyopadhyay, who studied under Cash as an undergraduate at HSPH, remembers sitting across from Cash – on opposite sides of the Sheetala statue – and debating disease control.

“I will always remember the duel that Sheetala and I had between us, which made us think about eradication programs,” Bandyopadhya said.

“He was a person who was humble, soft-hearted and so caring that it was always reflected in a very genuine way when he interacted with students,” he said.

Cash’s students remembered him not only as an outstanding scientist, but also as a person who cared about the intellectual and personal development of his students.

“Richard’s passion for global health and making a difference in the lives of those who needed it most inspired me and helped shape my career,” Bazghina WS Dessalegn, an associate professor at the University of Washington and former HSPH student, said in a statement. Crimson.

“He picked my brain just like he did with his friend,” Dessalegn added.

Although his work has been credited with saving millions of lives through oral rehydration therapy, “if you knew him, you wouldn’t even guess it,” said Dr. Elizabeth L. Hentschel. student in the Population Health Sciences program at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Just a few months before his death, Cash started a new class at HSPH simply because “he loved teaching,” Hentschel said.

According to Nazia Binte Ali, a Ph.D. Cash, an HSPH student, demonstrated a “very innovative” approach to the classroom, promoting “a culture of free speech, sharing ideas and values” and “motivating students to draw on existing knowledge and think deeper.”

In particular, Ramya Pinnamaneni – a research associate at HSPH – stated that Cash told his students to focus on “solutions that are actually practical.”

“He always asked us to pay attention to these little things,” Pinnamaneni added. “It was a great lesson from someone with that experience.”

Timothy Mah, a former HSPH student, wrote in an email that Cash was the type of teacher you “hope you are lucky enough to meet during your education.”

“He was a giant in the world of public health and a caring friend,” Mah wrote.

“I remember Richard asking tough questions when you least expected or wanted him to, which forced you to re-evaluate your thinking,” Mah added. “Then he just smiled because he could see the wheels turning in your head, knowing that you would get better.”

Nearly two decades later, Huda – an HSPH graduate who now serves as head of WHO’s Disaster Risk Management and Resilience Unit – still recalls Cash’s support.

When Huda was finishing her master’s degree with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative – a feat that seemed impossible with two young children – she said Cash reminded her that “it would be hard for you, but remember that your children will be one day I will be with “very proud of you.”

“He was one of those people who actually not only encouraged, but gave moral support in working for humanity,” she said.

Huda also noted Cash’s ability to remember the smallest details, which “made him very human.”

When they met in Geneva years later, Cash noticed that she was wearing a sari and winter boots – Huda’s quirk from her days at HSPH.

“And he said, ‘But remember, you still wear shoes with the sari,’” Huda said. “Then we started laughing among ourselves.”