Two faculty from the Bloomberg School’s Department of Epidemiology are among “Maryland’s Top 100 Women” for 2006. The annual awards program, established in 1996 by the Daily Record newspaper, recognizes the achievements of professional women throughout the state.
Kay Dickersin, PhD, ’89, MA, is director of the Center for Clinical Trials, a joint initiative of the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. The Center supports research and teaching efforts in relation to the practice of clinical trials and works to advance the methodology and conduct of clinical studies. As a proponent of evidence-based health care, Dickersin has worked for more than 20 years toward global registration of clinical trials. She is also a founding member of the Cochrane Collaboration, an international group that promotes well-informed health care among the general public, by summarizing and making available online summaries of evidence from similar medical studies.
In 1994, working with the National Breast Cancer Coalition, Dickersin developed a science course for breast cancer patients?Project LEAD?to help them play a greater advocacy role in breast cancer research by sitting on research grant review boards. To date, more than 1,000 advocates have been trained.
Kathy J. Helzlsouer, MD, MHS ’88, is an adjunct professor in the Department of Epidemiology and director of the School’s George W. Comstock Center for Public Health Research and Prevention in Hagerstown. She also is the director of the Prevention and Research Center at Mercy Medical Center.
As a cancer researcher for more than 20 years, Helzlsouer has conducted numerous studies on the molecular epidemiology of cancer, including investigations of breast, prostate, ovarian and lung cancer. Her current work includes research on the etiology of cancer, defining susceptible populations, cancer survivor issues and clinical trials of cancer chemopreventive agents. —Jackie Powder
Public Affairs media contacts for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Kenna Lowe or Tim Parsons at 410-955-6878 or paffairs@jhsph.edu.