Howe to Direct Epidemiology at Public Health Howe to Direct Epidemiology at Public Health Geoffrey R. Howe, an internationally-renowned epidemiologist, has been appointed professor and head of the Columbia School of Public Health's Division of Epidemiology, effective Apr. 1. Howe comes to Columbia from the University of Toronto. His arrival and the developments he has planned lead me to expect that, in a short period of time, our cancer epidemiology program will be among the most eminent in the country.
Current research includes dietary studies among minorities.
Howe's contributions have been key to understanding the risks of radiation. Every home seller since the mid-1980s is familiar with radon exposure, a public health concern piqued by Howe's leading investigations of cancer in uranium miners. The subsequent analysis of costs vs. risks became a prime example of public health policymaking in the 1980s. Howe's top priorities are the transfer of his current research from Toronto and development of the epidemiology research program. During that time we haven't made much use of the biological sciences.