Directors
JEROME CORNFIELD
Founder of The Biostatistics Center
Director 1972 - 1979
The founder of The Biostatistics Center was Jerome Cornfield. Jerry was one of
the world’s leading biostatisticians. He grew up in the Bronx, New York City and
graduated from New York University in 1933 with a B.A. in history. He did some
graduate work at Columbia University but obtained his only training in statistics
and mathematics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School in the
years 1936-1938. After many years in academia and government positions, in 1972 he became Professor of Statistics at The George Washington University and brought The Biostatistics Center with him from the University of Pittsburgh and served as its first Director. He served as the PI for the National Cooperative Gallstone Study (1973-80), and for research grants in statistical methodology. He also served as the Chairman of the Department of Statistics from 1973 to 1976. Jerry was a pioneer in recognizing and studying the problems of clinical trial design, data monitoring, and data analysis, particularly for studies in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other major chronic diseases. Behind all of the scholarly and intellectual achievements, there was also a warm sociable human being, always inquisitive, always prepared to engage in conversation.
LAWRENCE W. SHAW
Co-Director 1972-1980
Lawrence W. Shaw received his B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University and his A.M. from the
University of Pennsylvania. In 1972, Larry joined The Biostatistics Center as Co-Director with Jerry Cornfield and in 1973 was appointed Research Professor of Statistics. He served as Co-Director until 1980, and served as the PI for the National Exercise and Heart Disease Project (1972-80) and the Women’s Health Study (1975-80).
SAMUEL W. GREENHOUSE, Ph.D.
Director 1979-1980
Sam Greenhouse was born in the Bronx, New York. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the City College of New York, and his Masters and Ph.D. from The George Washington University. In 1948, he was recruited to join the group of four statisticians
headed by Jerry Cornfield, who formed the first statistics unit in the National
Institutes of Health. In 1974 Sam joined the Department of Statistics at The George Washington University and became an emeritus faculty member in 1988. He served as Acting Director of The Biostatistics Center in 1979, and from 1991 to 1999 served as the Associate Director for Research Development at The Biostatistics Center. Sam was acknowledged by students, including many current and former Center staff, to be a wonderful teacher. He had a great sense of humor and was beloved by all at the Biostatistics Center.
MAX HALPERIN, Ph.D.
Director 1980-1988
Max Halperin was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He received his B.S. from the University of Omaha in 1940, his M. S. from the University of Iowa (1941) and his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina (1950). In 1978, Max joined The Biostatistics Center and served as its Director from 1980 to 1988. It was during this period that Max published one of his most important statistical innovations: procedures for stochastic curtailment of clinical trials. Max’s infectious joy and enthusiasm in discussing biostatistics, and his intellectual fervor, brilliance and generosity inspired all who knew him, especially younger statisticians, physicians, and other scientists.
RAYMOND P. BAIN, Ph.D.
Co-Director 1997 - 1999
Associate Director 1992 - 1996
Ray Bain received his B.A. (1975) from Franklin & Marshall College and his Ph.D.
(1981) from Emory University. Ray joined the Center in 1986 as Statistician for the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibition in Diabetic Nephropathy trial and Principal Investigator of the RADIUS Study. After six years he became the Associate Director and later the Co-Director of The Biostatistics Center until 1999. Ray also became the PI of the coordinating center for several additional major projects including the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) sponsored by NIDDK, Medical Treatment of Prostatic Symptoms (MTOPS) trial sponsored by NIDDK, A Clinical Trial in Overt Nephropathy (ACTION) sponsored by Alteon Inc., and both the Maternal Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) and the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) Networks, which were funded under a single cooperative agreement (NICHD). He also took over as PI for the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibition in Diabetic Nephropathy trial (co-sponsored by NIDDK and Bristol-Myers Squibb).
JOHN M. LACHIN, Sc.D.
Interim Director 2010-2012
Co-Director 2000-2010
Director 1988- 2000
Co-Director 1985 - 1988
Assistant Director 1980 - 1985
John Lachin was born in New Orleans, LA. He received his B.S. from Tulane University
and his Sc.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. He joined the Center in 1973
as statistician for the National Cooperative Gallstone Study and later became the
Principal Investigator. John served as Assistant Director of The Biostatistics Center
under Max Halperin from 1980 to 1985, then Co-Director from 1985 until 1988. He served as Director for 12 years before becoming Co-Director from 2000 – 2010. In 2010, he became Interim Director until October 2012. He is now Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, and of Statistics. From 1995 – 2005 he was also the Director of the graduate program in Biostatistics jointly administered by the Department of Statistics in the Columbian School of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the School of Public Health and Health Services. John is currently the Principal Investigator of the coordinating center for the NIH-funded Epidemiology of Diabetes Intervention and Complications study, an extension of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, and the newly funded coordinating center for the Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (GRADE). He is also a Co-Investigator for the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study and the Restoring Insulin Secretion (RISE) Study.
SARAH FOWLER, Ph.D.
Director 2001 to 2010
Co-Director 1999 to 2000
In 1972, Sarah Fowler joined the newly formed George Washington University Biostatistics Center as a statistician working on the NICHD-funded Women’s Health Study and Minocycline in Rheumatoid Arthritis Trial funded by the NIAMSD, among other projects. Among other aspects of the design, management and analysis of clinical trials, Sarah was interested in the application of computer and database technology for improving the quality of trials and from 1984 to 1986 she was Director of Computer Operations at the Biostatistics Center. After 8 years away, she returned to the Center in 1999, first as Co-Director and then as Director of the Center for over 9 years. Sarah has been the Coordinating Center Principal Investigator for multiple projects. Currently, she is PI for the NIDDK funded Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS). Previously, she served as Coordinating Center PI for the NHLBI funded studies Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis (PIOPED II and PIOPED III), Prevention of Events with ACE Inhibition (PEACE) and Sarcoidosis Genetic Analysis (SAGA); the NICHD funded Chorionic Villus Sampling and Amniocentesis Study, the NICHD Maternal Fetal Medicine Units and Neonatal Intensive Care Units Networks, the Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding Intervention Trial (DUBIT), and the NIA funded Sites Testing Osteoporosis Prevention/Intervention Treatments (STOP/IT).
ELIZABETH THOM, Ph.D.
Director 2010-2018
Elizabeth (Liz) Thom grew up in the United Kingdom. She received her undergraduate degree in Mathematics from the University of Oxford, and a master’s degree in Biometry
from the University of Reading. Liz came to the United States in 1978, eventually joining the Biostatistics Center in 1986. She began work as a statistician for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network (NICU) and soon afterwards for the Maternal Fetal Medicine Units Network (MFMU). She received her PhD in Mathematical Statistics from The George Washington University in 1992. Liz became Project Director for the MFMU Network in 1992, and Principal Investigator in 1998. She was also the PI of the data coordinating center for the Early Amniocentesis and Late Transabdominal CVS Trial (EATA). More recently she has been PI of the coordinating center for a study of Prenatal Cytogenetic Diagnosis by Array-based Copy Number Analysis (Microarray) and of the Management Of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS), which received the Trial of the Year Award from the Society for Clinical Trials in 2012. She is currently PI of the coordinating center for MOMS2, a follow-up of the children whose mothers were enrolled in MOMS, as well as for the Lifestyle Interventions in Overweight and Obese Women Consortium (LIFEMOMS) with Rebecca Clifton. Liz was the Director of the Center from 2009 – 2018.
SCOTT EVANS, Ph.D.
Director 2018-