Josef Coresh Named Inaugural Recipient of George Comstock Professorship

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has named Josef Coresh, MD, PhD, MHS, as the inaugural recipient of the George W. Comstock Professorship in Epidemiology.

Coresh holds joint appointments as professor in both the Department of Epidemiology and the Department of Biostatistics at the Bloomberg School. He also currently serves as the director of the Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology Training Program and the director of the George W. Comstock Center for Public Health Research and Prevention.

"George Comstock was the quintessential 'shoe leather epidemiologist' who made profound contributions to our understanding of the epidemiology of many common health conditions," said David D. Celentano, ScD, MHS, Dr. Charles Armstrong Chair in Epidemiology at the Bloomberg School. "His landmark studies were in the field of tuberculosis, but he left major marks on cancer epidemiology, hypertension and a raft of other health conditions. Joe Coresh is continuing this major line of research with his studies on atherosclerosis risk in elderly populations, where he is directing a 25 year follow-up of a population of older residents in Washington County."

An advocate for public health research and prevention, Coresh has been a mentor to many cardiovascular epidemiologic researchers, and has led prominent investigations on the prevalence of chronic kidney disease in the United States. His main research objective is to decrease the burden of cardiovascular and kidney disease by developing the scientific basis for behavioral and pharmacologic interventions.

His work as vice-chair of the National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative workgroup (for the Clinical Practice Guideline "Chronic Kidney Disease: Evaluation, Classification and Stratification") has led to his increased involvement in the international effort to address the public health burden of chronic kidney disease. In 2010, the National Kidney Foundation gave Coresh the Garabed Eknoyan Award for his contributions to the field. He is also the recipient of the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention Mentoring Award.

The George W. Comstock Professorship in Epidemiology honors the legacy of George Comstock, MD, DrPH, MPH, a physician and professor emeritus at the Bloomberg School. Comstock was a distinguished epidemiologist who conducted seminal research on tuberculosis control and treatment, in addition to cancer, heart disease and lung disease. He served as a captain in the U. S. Public Health Service for 21 years and taught at Johns Hopkins University for more than 50 years. His work influenced generations of students who now hold top leadership positions in public health agencies and academic organizations throughout the world.

Media contact: Tim Parsons, director of Public Affairs, at 410-955-7619 or tmparson@jhsph.edu.