American
College of
Epidemiology

2001 Election
Biographical Sketches and Candidate Statements

ACE President-Elect
Vote for One (1)

ELIZABETH (TERRY) FONTHAM, DrPH, is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Pathology at LSU and an adjunct appointment at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Fontham has been a Fellow of the College since 1991.

BACKGROUND: Dr. Fontham received a B.A. degree in chemistry from Louisiana State University and a MPH and DrPH in epidemiology from Tulane SPHTM. She has been a member of the faculty at LSU School of Medicine since 1980. In addition, she is Associate Director of the Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center for Cancer Prevention and Control and serves as senior epidemiology consultant to the Louisiana Office of Public Health. Her research interests focus on tobacco-related cancers, nutrition, geneenvironment interactions in cancer risk, and the role of H. pylori infection in gastric carcinogenesis. She is a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Cancer Institute and has participated as a member of numerous NIH peer review groups. She chairs the Scientific Editorial Board of the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, is an Associate Editor of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, and serves on American Cancer Society boards and committees at the local, regional and national level. Dr. Fontham has served on the Board of Directors of ACE and as the Treasurer since 1992. She is a member of the Admissions, Finance, and Policy Committees of the College. In addition, she has chaired the Awards Committee and served on the Program Committee for the 10th Annual Scientific Meeting. She received the ACE Leadership and Distinguished Service Award in 2000.

STATEMENT: The College has an important role to play in the promotion of epidemiology as a discipline and in advocating for the interests of epidemiologists. Over the past five to ten years, advocacy and policy issues have developed into a cornerstone of the College. We have expanded our advocacy efforts and developed policy statements on such critical issues as access to medical records, privacy and confidentiality, data sharing, ethics and standards of practice, and the need for diversity in our discipline. Because epidemiologists comprise a relatively small group of scientists with unique issues and concerns, the voice of the College on behalf of epidemiologists is vital in articulating our positions to policy makers and regulators. It is also important that a forum be available to consider the practice of epidemiology from a variety of perspectives. Development of reasoned, thoughtful positions and the sometime need for rapid responses in advocacy require an involved, diverse membership. I believe that new growth in the College heralded by Associate Membership and an outstanding Congress 2001 that provided an opportunity to introduce the College to many epidemiologists who to this point had not seriously considered membership are important first steps. The challenge now is to continue to expand our membership base while creating an environment that encourages participation and interaction. One such opportunity is development of a formal mentoring program, matching Associate Members and new graduate Members with Fellows. Another opportunity is the educational program of the College that currently includes the presentation of workshops at two national meetings in addition to our own annual scientific meeting. The need for creative and energetic volunteers in developing and enlarging these programs is a recurring one. Further expansion of the Policy Committee into interest subcommittees has begun and should continue. Many more opportunities await exploration. I would welcome the challenge of leading the College forward hand in hand with the Board and others already committed to this task.

CAROL J. ROWLAND HOGUE, Ph.D, MPH, is the Terry Professor of Maternal and Child Health and Professor of Epidemiology in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

BACKGROUND: Hogue conducts research on disparities in women's and infants' health. She received her MPH and PhD in Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina and subsequently was Assistant Professor of Biostatistics at UNC (1974-77). She was a member of the Biometry faculty at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (Assistant then Associate Professor, 1977-82) and consultant to the National Center for Toxicologic Research. In 1982, she went to the Centers for Disease Control, where she was Chief of the Pregnancy and Infant Health Branch (1982-88) and Director of the Division of Reproductive Health (1988-92) in the National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, prior to returning to academia in 1992 in her present position at Emory University. During her tenure at CDC, she helped establish both national birth/death record linkage analysis and the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), as well as to maintain abortion surveillance. Hogue served on the Institute of Medicine Committee on Unintended Pregnancy, several National Institutes of Health committees and sits on several editorial boards, including the Journal of the National Medical Women's Association. She has served as an advisor to the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization, and the Latin American Perinatal Center. Hogue is a founding fellow of the American College of Epidemiology, has served on its membership and education committees, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors. She has been president of the Society for Epidemiologic Research, Chair of the MCH Council for the Association of Schools of Public Health, is a fellow of the American Epidemiological Society, and a member of the Epidemic Intelligence Service alumni association.

STATEMENT: From its founding, ACE has viewed its mission as forwarding the epidemiology profession. This unique role has gained in importance each year, particularly since the emergence of technological advances and parallel patient confidentiality and consent concerns threaten epidemiologists' ability to carry out our work. In 1996, ACE articulated four strategic goals: "1) Advocating for policies and actions that enhance the science and practice of epidemiology; 2) Promoting the professional development of epidemiologists through educational initiatives; 3) Promoting recognition of excellence in epidemiology; 4) Developing and maintaining a vital membership base of both Fellows and Members representing all aspects of epidemiology." I believe that ACE has done much towards achieving these goals. With respect to the first goal, our Policy Committee examines issues, such as the impact of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and provides position papers that are used to effect policy. Our Communications Committee maintains a well-used web site to inform not only our membership but also the broader community of these concerns. In pursuing the second goal, we have developed a popular series of professional workshops that are offered in conjunction with our annual meeting and the annual meeting of the SER. These are major tasks, assumed mainly by busy volunteers. However, we could be doing more to pursue these goals. To advocate better, within the context of a rapidly expanding universe of issues, we need to gain the ability to be proactive as well as reactive. To promote professional development throughout our profession, we need to establish active collaboration with relevant bodies, such as the Epidemiology Council of the Association of Schools of Public Health and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. Our Committee on Minority Affairs has realized that if epidemiology is to attain the goal of racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity at all levels, we need to inform and inspire students at the primary and secondary levels of education as well as college and graduate school. We know how to accomplish these goals. What we lack is an adequate financial base. The Board of Directors has begun to discuss ways to increase our discretionary funds through developing targeted, extramural support. I would like to further this discussion, and, as a first step, move in the direction of obtaining funds for a major initiative to reduce racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity in knowledge about and interest in epidemiology.


Board of Directors
Vote for Three (4)

ROGER H. BERNIER, Ph.D, MPH, is Associate Director for Science, National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (full time) and Editor, The Epidemiology Monitor (part time).

BACKGROUND: Bernier received a BA degree in 1966 from Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, an MPH from Yale University in 1974, and a PhD in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins University in 1978. He began working for CDC immediately after undergraduate school with assignments to the Venereal Disease Program in New York City and to the Smallpox Eradication and Measles Control program in Niger, West Africa. Following these public health field assignments and his subsequent academic training in epidemiology, Bernier rejoined CDC as part of CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service. He started in the National Immunization Program where he has remained as a staff epidemiologist, then as Chief of the Epidemiologic Research Section, and most recently as Associate Director for Science. Bernier's career has focused on epidemiologic studies of the safety and efficacy of new and existing vaccines, factors linked to vaccine coverage and improving vaccination coverage levels, and assessments of controversial hypotheses about vaccine safety. In his present position, Bernier is responsible for assuring the quality of the scientific work carried out by scientists in the National Immunization Program. As the senior scientific advisor to the Director of the program, he addresses a broad range of scientific, methodologic, and science-related policy issues. Most recently, he helped lead the Public Health Service's initial assessment and wrote the HHS policy statement on the controversy surrounding the relationship between thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative in vaccines, and neurodevelopmental health effects. He has also envisioned and helped create a new type of committee within the Institute of Medicine that will be providing ongoing reviews of vaccine safety issues of widespread public concern. Bernier has received honors and awards for his work over the years and he is currently a member of several epidemiology associations (ACE, AES, APHA, IEA, ISEE, ISPE, and SER).

STATEMENT: I have been a member of the College since the beginning when Dwight Janerich persuaded me to join because it would be the only organization committed to addressing the issues of vital interest to the profession. Early in the history of the College, I served on a committee headed by Phil Brachman to help define the niche that the College could fill. One of the most promising developments in the epidemiology community over the last few years has been the annual meeting program of the College. Under the leadership of Dale Sandler and other officers of the College, the meeting program has been the most interesting and useful of all the association programs. It has revealed a connectedness with real world issues that I have found refreshing and reassuring. However, I believe that the College has lived up to only a fraction of the early vision some of us had for a professionally active association. For these reasons, I welcome the invitation to run for office in the College. I believe the timing could be right to add my convictions about the need for a more active College to the momentum already under way within the leadership of the College. If elected I pledge to help create a College that more completely fulfills a vision of being relevant to its members and helping its members as a group to be more relevant to society.

MARIANNE BERWICK, Ph.D., is an Associate Attending Epidemiologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York City.

BACKGROUND: Dr. Berwick received her Master's in Public Health from Yale University Department of Epidemiology, School of Medicine, for work conducted in Nigeria isolating dengue virus. Subsequently, she received her Ph.D. in Epidemiology at Yale University. She has conducted research in melanoma (genetic risk and secondary prevention), soft tissue sarcoma (genetic risk factors), Fanconi Anemia (risk of cancer among heterozygotes) and DNA repair (genotypephenotype understanding). She is currently a course organizer of the International Molecular Epidemiology Course sponsored by IARC/ISI/AACR-MEG and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the International Dermato-Epidemiology Association. She has served on numerous review committees (NIH/NCI, DOD, NCIC, Italian Minister of University Research on Science and Technology Grants) and presented her work at various international fora. 

STATEMENT: It is my view that epidemiology can be both a tool to improve the public health of all nations as well as a discipline within which we can obtain insights as to the mechanism of disease. I think that it is important to work through organizations such as ACE to influence public policies that threaten the integrity of epidemiology. I would like to add my energy into the American College of Epidemiology's programs of mentorship and the public's understanding of risk.

BETSY FOXMAN, Ph.D., is Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Molecular and Clinical Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases (MAC-EPID) at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

BACKGROUND: Dr. Foxman is a molecular epidemiologist whose interest is in the transmission, evolution and pathogenesis of infectious diseases. Her research focuses on highly prevalent, multi-agent infectious diseases with an acute, chronically recurring nature. She has ongoing studies of urinary tract infection, vulvo-vaginal candidiasis, otitis media and group B streptococcus. Foxman earned Masters' and doctoral degrees in Epidemiology from the University of California Los Angeles. She has been on the faculty of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan since 1987. In 1996, she was elected a fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America. She is founding director of the Center for Molecular and Clinical Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases (MAC-EPID). She has served as section councilor and as chair of the American Public Health Association (APHA) Epidemiology Section. She was one of the APHA representatives on the program planning committee for the 2001 North American Congress of Epidemiology, and organized and chaired a meeting of the leadership of 16 epidemiology societies held in conjunction with the Congress. Foxman has been principal investigator on several NIH grants, is an associate editor of the American Journal of Epidemiology and serves on the editorial board of the Human Genome Epidemiology Network (HuGE Net). She also serves on the executive board of the Michigan Antibiotic Resistance Reduction (MARR) coalition, a community- based coalition whose mission is to decrease inappropriate use of antimicrobial agents and antimicrobial resistance rates through the collaborative efforts of academic, community, government, and industry partners.

STATEMENT: As an ACE Board Member I would 1) build on ACE efforts to increase collaborative ties between the many epidemiology societies worldwide; 2) seek to increase opportunities for student involvement, and obtain funding to support student participation in meetings; and 3) enhance the interface between epidemiology and public policy.

ROSANNE B. MCTYRE, Ph.D. heads the epidemiology and biostatistics practice at THE WEINBERG GROUP INC., a scientific consulting firm in Washington, DC.

BACKGROUND: Dr. McTyre received a B.A. in Biology from Swarthmore College, an M.P.H. from Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health in infectious disease epidemiology, and a Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in chronic disease epidemiology. During the last 20 years she has served as a consultant both for government and private clients on a wide variety of subject areas including environmental/occupational exposures, health care products, implanted medical devices and pharmaceuticals. Dr. McTyre is an active member of the Society for Epidemiology Research and the American College of Epidemiology. She is presently completing a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the American College of Epidemiology, and serves as Co-Chair of the Education Committee. She is a past member of the Ethics and Standards of Practice Committee, where she participated in the writing of ethics guidelines for the College.

STATEMENT: I am excited about the possibility of continuing to work with some of today's leaders in epidemiology in an effort to make the College a strong advocate for epidemiologists in North America. Having worked in private consulting for the last 13 years, I appreciate how the discipline has changed over time, as we continue to be held more accountable and responsible for the studies we conduct. We must continue to restore the vision of epidemiology as a scientific discipline that can be trusted. One of the ways to do this is to work to make the College strong and responsive. We need support from an organization such as ACE not only in our efforts to perform the best science possible, but also to explain, stand behind, and defend our studies once findings are published and are disseminated. Working on the Board is one way in which I believe I can make a difference. I am deeply committed to continuing education and the professional development of epidemiologists, whether they are just starting their careers or have been practicing for many years. During the past 3 years, I have devoted many hours to help plan successful annual meetings. My most important contribution has been in the planning of the ACEsponsored pre-meeting workshops both for SER and the ACE annual meetings. The success of these workshops can be measured by the unprecedented attendance attained at this year's first Congress of Epidemiology pre-meeting courses. I would like to have the opportunity to continue this work on the Board for an additional three years, while making sure that my successor is properly trained to take over this job at the end of my term.


PAULINE MENDOLA, Ph.D. is an Epidemiologist at the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, US Environmental Protection Agency.

BACKGROUND: Dr. Mendola's primary research interest is environmental factors that influence reproductive and perinatal health outcomes. Current research projects include reproductive and adverse birth outcome risk associated with drinking water contaminants and the potential health effects associated with pesticide exposures in preschool children. Her dissertation research on the risk of fetal death associated with women consuming contaminated sport fish was honored with the ACE Student Prize Paper Award in 1994.

STATEMENT: ACE plays a unique and vital role in supporting the professional practice of epidemiology. Throughout my career, I have had the good fortune to work closely with clinicians, engineers, toxicologists, and other professionals as well as community members involved in local projects. In these interdisciplinary contexts, it is easy to see the benefits of a strong organization that clearly articulates professional standards and policies. My committee work in the College has focused on encouraging a broader, more diverse active membership. We've been making progress toward that goal but continue to need creative strategies to ensure that the College becomes more reflective of, and responsive to, the full spectrum of practitioners in the field. Our recent work on the Membership Committee to develop a mentoring program for associate members was designed to bring in the enthusiasm and fresh ideas of the next generation of epidemiologists, while providing them with a ready network for professional development support and advice. I am delighted to have been nominated and would appreciate the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors. I believe my experience, energy and commitment to the field will be an asset to the organization. 

ARTHUR M. MICHALEK, Ph.D., is Dean of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute Graduate Division of the University at Buffalo; Chair of Educational Affairs; a full member of the Institute's Cancer Prevention & Epidemiology Program; and Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University at Buffalo and an adjunct at the University of Albany School of Public Health.

BACKGROUND: Dr. Michalek has been a Fellow of ACE since 1991 and served as Editor of the College Newsletter from 1995 through 1999. He also served the College on the Communications Committee and worked to further the mission of the College with respect to policy developments, recruitment issues, etc. Michalek received his B.S. degree in Biology in 1975 from Canisius College; his M.S. degree in Natural Sciences in 1977 from the University at Buffalo and his PhD in Epidemiology in 1980 from the University at Buffalo. In his current position at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (an NCI designated comprehensive cancer center) he is responsible for the oversight and implementation of graduate (MS, PhD), clinical, and post-graduate training programs. When not in meetings he devotes time to his research program that currently focuses on radiation and cancer and also areas of American Indian health. He has published on an eclectic mixture of cancer studies ranging from cancer control to classical and molecular epidemiology. He is currently a PI within an International Consortium conducting a leukemia casecontrol study in areas of the Former Soviet Union contaminated from fallout of the Chernobyl accident. He is also a member of the NCI Network for Cancer Control Research Among American Indians and Alaska Natives and a Steering Committee member of the American Indian and Alaska Native Cancer Leadership Initiative. In addition to addressing the national needs of Native populations he has worked quite closely with several tribal groups to define health burdens and design tribal-specific interventions.

STATEMENT: I believe that I would bring a broader perspective to the Board especially in its associations with an array of external audiences. My research and administrative interests require daily interactions with basic scientists, clinicians, trainees from a diversity of programs and the general public in the ever changing milieu of clinical and academic practice. These experiences have afforded me greater insights into their needs and to identify the role that epidemiology can play in their respective lives. The College, in its role as an advocacy body, has made significant gains in reaching out to the numerous epidemiologic subspecialties that now exist. The next step is to outreach to other constituencies whose members are assuming closer alliances with us. We need enhanced liaison with our clinical colleagues in the areas of clinical epidemiology, outcomes research, evidence based medicine, and prognostic studies; to work more in concert with our basic scientific colleagues in the areas of molecular and genetic epidemiology; and to the public. Members of the general population are not only our present day advocates with legislators, but may one day be study participants making it imperative that we increase their scientific literacy and also assure them of confidential and ethical treatment. While these are lofty goals they can be accomplished through involving other professional groups in our educational programs as well as through the promotion of individual member directed initiatives for the laity. As an ACE Board Member I will do my best to transfer the experiences I have gained from my past relationships with these groups to affect more positive and closer relationships with them and with our discipline.

MARTY L. SLATTERY, MPH, Ph.D, is Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Utah, School of Medicine.

BACKGROUND: Dr. Slattery received a B.A. in microbiology at the University of Kansas, an M.P.H. with a focus on nutrition from the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, and a Ph.D. in epidemiology with minors in biostatistics and nutrition from the University of Texas, School of Public Health in Houston. In 1986 she moved to the University of Utah, where she has been involved in studies involving diverse population groups. Dr. Slattery is a nutritional epidemiologist whose major research focus has been on diet and physical activity as they relate to health. Most of her research has been in the area of cancer, focusing primarily on colon and breast cancer. Dr. Slattery has been active in evaluating the role of genetic susceptibility to cancer development and survival. To gain a better understanding of specific cancer pathways, she has been evaluating how diet, activity and other lifestyle factors relate to the development of specific genetic alterations in tumors. Dr. Slattery has actively done research relating to epidemiological methods, exploring ways to analyze and interpret epidemiological data. She is an active contributor to the scientific literature and performs peer review for 27 professional journals. She is a member of the Society for Epidemiologic Research, American Association for Cancer Research, American Association of Human Genetics, and the American Association for Preventive Oncology.

STATEMENT: Epidemiology is critical to understanding disease and promoting health. Organizations such as the ACE are uniquely positioned to advance the field of epidemiology and address the many challenges the field faces. Promotion of training programs that will train epidemiologists to be broad thinkers as well as sound researchers is needed. The ACE can act as a force to stress the central role of epidemiology in health research. The ACE can play a significant role in promoting the diverse issues that face epidemiologists that range from linking epidemiology with emerging information from other disciplines such as genetics, to applying research outcomes to health promotion programs. The ACE, as an advocate for epidemiology, can help promote the scientific contributions of epidemiology, help set professional standards, and provide vision for the field and public health in general.

COLIN L. SOSKOLNE, BSc, BSc Hons, PhD, is Professor of Epidemiology and Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Dr. Soskolne initially trained in applied mathematics and computer science in South Africa. His first job was as statistician with the South African Human Sciences Research Council. He then directed the Transvaal Branch of the Medical Research Council's Institute for Statistical Research associated with the National Research Institute for Occupational Diseases, Johannesburg. He left South Africa for a January 1978 start in a PhD program in Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. In 1982, he joined the Ontario Cancer Foundation as Director of its Epidemiology Research Unit located in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics at the University of Toronto. There he was heavily engaged in AIDS research, in both professional and public education, and in advocacy about AIDS. He was awarded the SER 1983 Student Prize for his doctoral work. He joined the University of Alberta in 1985. There, he established the Department of Public Health Sciences' Epidemiology Program, and both built and directed the Department's graduate training program. His major research contribution formed the basis in 1991 for the International Agency for Research on Cancer designating "occupational exposures to strong-inorganic-acid mists containing sulfuric acid" as a definitive human carcinogen. From 1984 to 1996, he spearheaded efforts to bring the question of professional ethics into focus for epidemiologists worldwide. He served on the ACE Ethics and Standards of Practice Committee for its first 10 years of operation through which he contributed significantly to the development and recent publication of the ACE ethics guidelines. His membership in ACE goes back to its founding days, and he has been a Fellow since 1988. His most recent sabbatical was with the WHO's European Centre for Environment and Health, Rome. There, he produced a discussion document concerned with the linkages between global ecological integrity and sustainable development. He has successfully organized several national and international conferences. He has won awards for his professional service. He currently is an elected Councilor on the Board of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) which three-year term expires later in 2001, allowing for a seamless transition to ACE. His name is associated with over 200 published works. His home page URL is: http://www.med.ualberta.ca/PHS/staff/soskolne/

STATEMENT: Because environmental degradation has such profound implications for public health, epidemiologists must establish new paradigms for using their field to direct social policies towards sustainability. Dr. Soskolne will bring strength to the ACE Board for leading initiatives in the needed areas of both global and climate change from both his Canadian and international experiences. In addition, from his ethics background, Dr. Soskolne will bring to ACE a thrust on questions of data privacy, access and sharing; again, his Canadian experiences could be useful in the US context. The need for continuing education in the ethics area will be well served by him. Finally, with his track record for hosting national and international conferences, he will continue a strong tradition, contributing to organizing stimulating meetings that are affordable, accessible to students of the discipline, educational and financially sustaining for the organization. He will bring energy and experience to ACE.