The society is the primary organization of epidemiologists in the U.S. and the largest such organization in the world. Dr. Wilcox will become president in June 1997, after a year as president-elect. He will serve four years on the Society's executive committee, one as president-elect, one as president, and two as past president.
Epidemiology is a branch of medical research that is increasingly in the public eye.
The first epidemiologists studied epidemics caused by infection. Later, epidemiology expanded to include cancer and other chronic diseases. For example, epidemiologists were the first to show that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, long before biologists understood the mechanisms of cancer causation. In recent years, epidemiologists have adopted some of the advanced tools of biotechnology. In his own pioneering research, Dr. Wilcox has used ultra-sensitive laboratory measurements of hormones to address basic questions of fertility and pregnancy.