The Marquette Area Public School District will honor distinguished alumnus Dr. James G. Kublin by inducting him into the district’s “A. Felch Pendill Wall of Excellence” at Marquette Senior High School.  The MAPS Education Foundation’s induction ceremony and reception are set for Monday, October 12,  at 4:00 p.m. in the corridor adjacent to the Marquette Senior High School gymnasium.  The public is invited to join in recognizing Dr. Kublin.

A. Felch Pendill Wall of Excellence honorees are alumni of the Marquette Schools. The honoree must have distinguished him or herself in a chosen occupation of profession; demonstrated service to others through commitment to public or community service; and demonstrated his or her time and contributions to philanthropy for the betterment of mankind.

Wall of Excellence inductee Dr. James G. Kublin, a native of Marquette, graduated from MSHS in 1979. In high school, he was actively involved in extracurricular activities, participating in football (1 year), ski team (4 years), track (2 years), Secretary of the Student Council (1 year), and Senior Class President.

He went on to receive a B.S. (1984) and M.D. (1988) from Georgetown University.  He received a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1998.  Dr. Kublin continued his education by completing a fellowship at the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland (1998-2000). This led to work in Malawi, focusing on HIV and malaria. His devotion to malaria prevention and creating an HIV vaccine led to the opening of several state-of-the-art laboratories in Southern Africa.

Dr. Kublin currently serves as Executive Director of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network based at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA. He is also the Medical Director of the Seattle Malaria Clinical Trials Center and a faculty member in the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington.

Dr. James G. Kublin is described by his colleagues as a Renaissance man who is “brilliant, approachable, and a phenomenal leader.”  When Dr. Kublin has setbacks, he uses his son’s words as guidance:  “But you’re not going to give up, are you?  It’s too important!”