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American
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ACE
President-Elect |
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MARLENE B. GOLDMAN, S.M., Sc.D, is Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. BACKGROUND: Dr. Goldman, an ACE Fellow, was elected to the Board of Directors in 2000. As an active member of ACE, she has successfully served on the Program Planning and Education Committees, including Chair of the poster committee for a number of years, organizing and speaking in the Symposium on genderbased medicine at the 2002 Annual Meeting, and conducting Roundtables on topics related to women’s health. She is Chair of the Program Planning Committee for the 2004 Annual Meeting in Boston. Dr. Goldman earned master’s and doctoral degrees in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. Prior to her current appointments she was an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at HSPH where she taught epidemiologic principles and methods and developed the program in reproductive epidemiology and women’s health. Trained as a chronic disease epidemiologist, she specializes in the design, conduct, and analysis of large epidemiologic cohort studies and clinical trials. Her research interests include environmental, occupational, and lifestyle influences on reproduction and the health consequences of exposure to ionizing radiation. She is lead epidemiologist on three federally-funded major clinical trials investigating optimal therapy options for infertility and improving the quality of care that women receive during labor and delivery. In the year 2000, Dr. Goldman and Dr. Maureen Hatch co-edited a well-received, comprehensive (1300 pages!) epidemiology text entitled Women and Health. The book won the Award of Excellence in Medical Science from the Association of American Publishers during its debut year. Dr. Goldman has been both a Section Councilor and a Governing Councilor for the Epidemiology Section of APHA. She served on the Planning Committee of the Congress of Epidemiology 2001 for three years, experience that will be essential in guiding the College to another successful Congress in 2006. She has participated in various advisory and review committees for CDC, NIH, and EPA, is an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Epidemiology, and is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the Society for Epidemiologic Research, and the Society for Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology. STATEMENT: The College plays a pivotal role in advancing the strengths and relevance of epidemiology as a profession. Our commitment to inform policy provides an evidence-based analytic approach for those who interpret our research. If elected, my priorities would be to ensure that members with a wide range of backgrounds and constituencies are actively engaged in College activities and committees, further strengthen our efforts to foster integrity in scientific research and ethical principles, and involve new investigators through wider membership opportunities and committee representation. American College of Epidemiology To enhance the ability of the College to respond to the challenges of advocating informed health policies, I enthusiastically support the development of topical scientific reviews to aid consumers of epidemiologic research - clinicians, regulators, and the media - understand our research. Our sponsorship of the Annals of Epidemiology offers us additional untapped communication possibilities, such as publication of the symposia presentations and articles solicited from leaders of the College. I would like to further expand educational initiatives through our very successful workshops and web-site. The depth and resiliency of epidemiology as a discipline and the diverse interests of practicing epidemiologists mean that the College’s mission must be broad and ambitious. To meet the major ongoing challenges we face (an evolving peer review process, institutional review board regulations, increasingly complex methodology and software tools) and new challenges (HIPAA regulations, the introduction of data sharing, emerging infections and bioterrorism), we must focus our relatively modest staffing and budget. To accomplish this I suggest we review and update the College’s Strategic Plan, adopted in 1996, which calls for us to “advocate for policies and actions that enhance the science and practice of epidemiology, promote the professional development of epidemiologists, promote recognition of excellence in epidemiology, and develop and maintain a vital membership base representing all aspects of epidemiology.” We need to set concrete, reasonable goals and benchmarks so that we can measure our progress. If elected President, I will make this important task my first priority. |
MARTHA S. LINET, M.D., MPH, is Acting Chief and Senior Investigator in the Radiation Epidemiology Branch at the National Cancer Institute. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors of ACE, chairs the Publications Committee, and is a long-standing Fellow of the College. BACKROUND: Dr. Linet’s research assesses and quantifies cancer risks associated with occupational, residential, and medical exposures to ionizing and nonionizing radiation. She is an expert on the etiology of hematopoietic malignancies, and authored the internationally recognized text The Leukemias: Epidemiologic Aspects. Dr. Linet evaluated power-frequency magnetic fields and radon in relation to childhood leukemia, cell phones in relation to adult brain tumors, and autoimmune diseases, familial and genetic factors in relation to lymphoproliferative malignancies. Dr. Linet received her M.D. from Tufts University, her MPH from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and is board certified in internal medicine and preventive medicine. She was elected to the American Epidemiological Society, and has received the NIH Merit Award, Director’s Award, and Quality of Life Award. Dr. Linet is an associate editor of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the American Journal of Epidemiology, and the Journal of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She serves on advisory committees to the Leukemia Research Fund (London), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Lyon), the American Cancer Society, and the Committee on Environmental Health of the American Academy of Pediatrics. STATEMENT: While complementing other organizations of epidemiologists, ACE initially focused on credentialing and more recently on advocacy and policy issues. Yet, the College has more often reacted, rather than addressed proactively issues that confront epidemiology. A goal if I am elected is to develop an organizational entity within the College to provide leadership for our profession in public health policy and disease prevention. The rapid developments in molecular genetics, statistical methods, data mining approaches, scientific consortia, and electronic communication have not been adequately considered for many epidemiological studies. As President, I would target incorporating a systematic assessment of these topics as a critical component of the Annual Scientific meeting and other venues to be established by ACE. New strategies are required for communicating results of our studies to the general public and the media. A priority for ACE, if I were elected, would be development of improved communication methods and materials that could be broadly adapted for communication of the results and implications of our research. The College has expanded its educational initiatives in the outstanding training sessions offered at the ACE and Society for Epidemiological Research annual meetings, the workshop on doctoral education led by Dr. Jon Samet, and the new Associate Member category within the College, but more effort is needed. As President, a key objective would be to establish ACE at the forefront in providing recommendations and bench-marks to improve epidemiological pre-doctoral training, in promoting the career development of junior epidemiologists through additional ACE-sponsored training activities, and in creating a mechanism within ACE to establish and update regularly recommendations for lifetime post-graduate educational needs. |
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Board of Directors
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FAITH DAVIS, PH.D is
Professor of Epidemiology in the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
at the School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.
STATEMENT: Epidemiology is a diverse tool with which to identify and solve defined issues in public health and a broad discipline within which to obtain insights into the mechanism of disease. Each individual member of the discipline has a unique contribution to make; that is, to search for a piece of a puzzle that grasps their interest. This search has maximum value if it is complemented by others working to assemble the puzzle so that the whole of the solution becomes readily apparent. ACE is a unique organization working to support the day to day issues that epidemiologists face, and helping each of us look at the broader picture of the puzzles we are engaged in working on and influencing those public policies that are necessary to continue and implement the results of our work. I would like to add my support towards the American College of Epidemiology’s efforts to promote the discipline.
SHIRIKI KUMANYIKA, PH.D, M.P.H. is Professor of Epidemiology, Associate Dean for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, and Director of the Graduate Program in Public Health Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine. BACKGROUND: Kumanyika received a B.A. in Psychology from Syracuse University in 1965, an M.S. in Social Work from Columbia in 1969, a Ph.D. in Human Nutrition from Cornell in 1978, and a M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins in 1984. Before joining the University of Pennsylvania faculty in 1999, she held nutrition and/or epidemiology faculty positions at Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Penn State, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Kumanyika’s research interests center around nutrition in chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular epidemiology and obesity, and minority health. She is currently engaged in several studies of obesity prevention or treatment in African Americans and directs a NIH-funded EXPORT (Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities & Training) Center that focuses on obesity and related health problems in African Americans. Kumanyika has held appointed or elected leadership positions in the American Public Health Association, the American Heart Association (AHA), and several other organizations and has served on more than 2 dozen expert panels or policy committees at the national or international level. Kumanyika is actively engaged in the global effort to curb the obesity epidemic and chairs the Prevention Reference Group for the International Obesity Task Force. She is a Fellow of the ACE, a Fellow and Past Chair of the AHA Council on Epidemiology and Prevention, and a member of the American Epidemiological Society. In the ACE, she served on the Committee on Minority Affairs from its inception in 1992, through 1998, and on the Membership Committee from 1997- 2002. STATEMENT: My first, very positive, impressions of the ACE were through the Committee on Minority Affairs. The work of that committee symbolizes the unique niche of the ACE in our field in helping the membership to grapple with pressing public health science issues and the role of epidemiology in addressing these issues. Among our biggest challenges in the coming years will be adapting our methods to better characterize societal level causes of disease and point the way to viable solutions to problems that are so deeply rooted in the social structure as to seem insoluble. I see the emphasis on evidence-based medicine as both an opportunity and a threat. The opportunity lies in the agreement that scientific rigor is at the top of the hierarchy. The threat lies in the narrowness of the definition of what is allowable evidence and the overvaluing of randomized, controlledtrials for informing solutions to naturallyoccurring population health problems. The need for both qualitative research and consumer perspectives to lend validity to the framing of epidemiologic research questions and interpretation of research results also presents opportunities. Working more effectively in partnership with those outside the field of epidemiology should help us to grow professionally as well as achieve our ultimate aims of addressing important health problems. I look forward to participating in ACE’s efforts to lead the field in meeting these challenges.
F. JAVIER NIETO, M.D., PH.D, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin. BACKGROUND: Nieto received his MD degree from the University of Valencia, Spain, in 1978. After completing a residency in Family and Community Medicine in Spain (1983) and an MPH degree in Havana, Cuba (1985), he worked for the Spanish Government in developing primary health care centers in a rural area in central Spain. He resumed his academic training at the Johns Hopkins University where he completed a Master in Health Science (MHS, 1989) and a PhD degree in Epidemiology (1991). In 1991 he joined the faculty of the Department of Epidemiology in the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and served as an Associate Professor between 1998 and 2001. Between 1993 and 2001, he served as a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Epidemiology. He joined the Department of Population Health Sciences at UW in January 2002. Dr. Nieto’s main areas of research include cardiovascular disease epidemiology, markers of subclinical atherosclerosis, emerging risk factors for cardiovascular disease (homocysteine, inflammation markers, chronic infections), health consequences of sleep disorders and psychosocial stress. He is also interested in methodological issues in epidemiology and in the teaching of epidemiologic methods. Along with Moyses Szklo, he is co-author of a textbook on intermediate epidemiology methods (Epidemiology: Beyond the Basics, Gaithersburg, MD, Aspen Publishers Inc, 2000). In addition to the American College of Epidemiology, Dr. Nieto is an elected member of the American Society of Epidemiology, a Fellow of the American Heart Association (Council on Epidemiology and Prevention), and a member of the American Public Health Association, the Society for Epidemiologic Research, and the Sociedad Española de Epidemiología (Spanish Epidemiologic Society). STATEMENT: As an ACE board member I would like to work to enhance the influence and the role of the College as an advocate for epidemiologists and for the field of epidemiology in general. I believe that the ACE should increase its collaborations with other epidemiology and public health societies and play a leading role in assertively reaffirming the multidisciplinary nature of the discipline and its primary role as a basic science of public health and clinical research. Contrary to divisive voices that try to narrow down the focus of the field, epidemiologists should be non-apologetic in emphasizing the broad basis and goals of the discipline. Understanding the distribution and determinants of disease requires the collaborative work of scientific fields ranging from pathophysiology and molecular epidemiology to clinical sciences, sociology, health services research, and social epidemiology. A professional organization such as the ACE can play a critical role in reaching out to other professional organizations to further scientific and advocacy collaborations. Expanding the membership of the college as well as promoting a responsible and professional conduct in the reporting of results of epidemiology studies in the popular media are additional areas that require renewed attention.
REBECCA PARKIN, PH.D, MPH, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health of The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and is the Director of Science for GWU’s Center for Risk Science and Public Health. BACKGROUND: Dr. Parkin is an environmental epidemiologist and manager who has served as the Assistant Commissioner of Occupational and Environmental Health in the New Jersey Department of Health, an epidemiologist and project manager in CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health, the director of scientific and professional programs at the American Public Health Association, and as an academic researcher and teacher in several universities. She currently teaches and mentors students, while publishing and conducting research in environmental health, vaccine safety, and risk science methods including risk communication. The US Environmental Protection Agency, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Agency, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry, Association for Occupational and Environmental Clinics, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have supported her research. Throughout her career, Dr. Parkin has focused on the science-policy interface and ensuring that epidemiology makes a difference in everyday life. |
She has testified in Congressional hearings and has served on numerous committees and review panels of the National Research Council, Institute of Medicine, ATSDR, and EPA where she now serves on the Science Advisory Board. She has been a site visitor for the Council on Education in Public Health since the 1980’s. Dr. Parkin received her MPH in Environmental Health and PhD in Epidemiology from Yale University and her Certificate in Science, Technology and Public Policy from Princeton University. STATEMENT: Since its founding, the College has served important roles in ensuring the integrity and standards of epidemiology, providing means to examine cutting edge issues, offering ways for epidemiologists to interact in the interests of the public and the profession, and advocating positions based on the best available science. Recently, new public health problems have demanded our expertise, and societal expectations and legal requirements related to research and practice have changed at the same time that new tools and expanded knowledge have allowed us to strengthen our methods and develop critical insights. I envision the College as an organization proactively responsive to change and supportive of epidemiologists seeking to build on such change. The College can ensure the continuing, significant contributions and advancement of the science and practice of our discipline by stimulating excellence among epidemiologists and fostering the active exchange of diverse views. To realize these goals the College will need to design appealing forums for meaningful and sustained dialogue, actively innovate and collaborate, while it seeks effective ways to leverage new resources. I am committed to serving the College by conscientiously attending to current and emerging issues, creative programmatic options, and implementation of strategic actions. For me, membership on the Board would be both an honor and privilege, allowing me to give back to the profession that has provided me with rich opportunities to do so much.
JACK SIEMIATYCKI, PH.D, is a Professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of Montreal. His main appointment is in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine. He holds adjunct appointments at McGill University and the Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (University of Quebec). He is Associate Director of the Research Center of the University of Montreal Hospital Center. BACKGROUND: Jack was first trained as a statistician and then received a PhD in epidemiology from McGill University in 1976. After working initially on health survey methods, he shifted focus to environmental/occupational causes of cancer when he spent a post-doctoral year at the International Agency for Research on Cancer. This, and epidemiologic methodology, has remained the primary focus of his research career. He has served on many expert panels, both nationally in Canada and internationally in the US and Europe. Jack has also been active in peer review for journals and grant agencies. He was President of the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics and has been active in Canada in advocating for epidemiology. STATEMENT: On the one hand there is increasing appreciation for and recognition of the essential role that epidemiology can play in society. On the other hand, there are major and increasing barriers to the realization of epidemiological research. The barriers include lack of human resources (i.e. epidemiologists) to carry out the necessary work, lack of adequate funding and legal constraints to access to data. I have been involved in Canada in lobbying on behalf of the needs of epidemiology. While the issues are not identical in Canada and the US, they are similar enough that we need to be aware of how these issues are playing out in neighboring countries. I think the priorities for ACE should include: enhance recruitment of young talented trainees into epidemiology; foster high quality of training and practice; encourage the creation of job opportunities in epidemiology; combat inappropriate limitations on access to personal data for legitimate health research; lobby for adequate funding for epidemiology research. LORANN STALLONES, MPH, PH.D, is a Professor in the Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins. BACKGROUND: Dr. Stallones received a BA in 1974 in cultural anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara; an MPH in International Health in 1975, and a PhD in Epidemiology in 1982 at the University of Texas, School of Public She served in the Peace Corps in Micronesia. She was a Public Health Analyst at NIH, NHLBI, Epidemiology Branch. She became as Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health in 1984. Dr. Stallones moved to the Department of Environmental Health at Colorado State University in Fort Collins in 1990. In 2001, she moved from the Department of Environmental Health to the Department of Psychology with a joint appointment in the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences. She served APHA as a member of the Epidemiology Section Council (1986-1990); on the Action Board (1989-1994); and on the Joint Policy Committee (1994). She served as Secretary-Treasurer for Society of Epidemiologic Research (1990-1993). She was a member of the Epidemiology Committee of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute pre-doctoral fellowship panel (1996, 1998, 1999) and Chair of the Committee (2000, 2001). She was on the first panel convened for the Vietnam Education Foundation Fellowship Program, hosted by the National Academy of Sciences (2003). She has served on numerous grant review panels for the CDC/ NIOSH, and CDC/NCIPC. Her research interests are primarily related to agricultural safety and health. She is currently Principal Investigator on a study of adolescent farm work, fatigue and injuries. She is Director of the Colorado Injury Control Research Center, an academic research and training program funded by CDC (1995-present). STATEMENT: In 1980, my father published an article entitled “The proposed American College of Epidemiology” in AJE 111(4):460. He was critical of the need for ACE. Shortly after the establishment of ACE, I asked him if he was going to join and whether he thought I should. He said he wouldn’t, but that he thought I would be well advised to become a member. I applied and became a member in 1985. I became a Fellow in 1990. He was not sure what ACE would contribute that other organizations (APHA, SER, AES) were not. I believe that ACE does many things that are not being done by other organizations. ACE has provided a forum for discussion of ethics and policies that influence our ability to conduct epidemiologic research. Professional training has provided many of us an opportunity to expand our understanding of molecular techniques, genetics, and biology. Since 1997, I have served on the ACE Membership Committee and worked with enthusiastic colleagues to expand the vision of what membership in ACE means and how to increase participation in the College. Not often I have seen my father’s opinions proved incorrect, but his view of what ACE would contribute was short sided. I hope to work on professional training and on reducing barriers to conducting human research.
MICHAEL A. STOTO, PH.D, is an Associate Director for Public Health in the RAND Center for Domestic and International Health Security. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and a Professor at the RAND Graduate School. BACKGROUND: As a professional staff member at the Institute of Medicine Dr. Stoto led numerous projects related to public health policy and practice. He has served on the faculty of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and was Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at George Washington University. Dr. Stoto’s research interests includes methodological topics in epidemiology, statistics, and demography, research synthesis/meta-analysis, community health assessment, population health, risk analysis and management, performance measurement and the evaluation of public health interventions, as well as substantive topics in public health policy and practice. Recent and current research studies address the early detection of bioterrorism events, the feasibility of regional surveillance in the Washington metropolitan area, the adequacy of California’s public health system to protect and improve the health of local communities, and national smallpox vaccine policy. While at GWU, Dr. Stoto established the Washington Metropolitan Public Health Assessment Center and led efforts relating to HIV surveillance in the District of Columbia, statistical methods for early department syndromic surveillance information, and coordinated regional surveillance for West Nile Virus in the Washington area. He has also worked on numerous HIV surveillance and policy issues, and has synthesized the epidemiologic literature on the health effects of herbicides and vaccine adverse effects. Dr. Stoto has served on the College’s Ethics and Standards of Practice Committee and Bioterrorism Task Force, and co-chaired a workshop on Doctoral Training in Epidemiology. He has also served as an officer in the Epidemiology Section of the American Statistical Association and the American Public Health Association. STATEMENT: In the last few years, concerns about emerging infections as well as bioterrorism have greatly raised the public profile, and expectations, of epidemiology and public health. As a result, the College must enhance it activities in three areas. First, our advocacy efforts must clarify the important contributions of epidemiology in these areas for the public and decision makers. We should also monitor burgeoning efforts at the state and local level to enhance epidemiologic capacities to ensure that federal funding is used effectively to protect the public’s health in all areas. Second, the training of epidemiologists for public health practice – at the federal, state, and local levels – deserves priority among the College’s educational concerns. This should involve efforts to include relevant material at all levels of epidemiologic training, in-service training for epidemiologists and others currently in public health practice positions, as well as efforts to enhance the skills of academic epidemiologists to train others in these skills. Finally, the College’s research efforts must address the development of new methods for public health surveillance, the development of new vaccines and treatments for bioterrorist agents and emerging infections, and other relevant areas. |
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