Devra Davis
Encyclopedia
Devra Lee Davis is an American
epidemiologist
and writer. She was born on June 7th, 1946, in Washington, DC, the daughter of Harry B. and Jean Langer Davis, and was raised in Donora
and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
.
Her career has spanned all areas of academia, public policy, and scientific research. While Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, she counseled leading officials in the United States, United Nations, European Environment Agency, Pan American Health Organization, World Health Organization, and World Bank.
She has also authored more than 190 publications in books and journals ranging from the Lancet and Journal of the American Medical Association to Scientific American and the New York Times and blogs in Freakonomics for the New York Times, Huffington Post and elsewhere.
and later received a B.S.
from the University of Pittsburgh
in 1967. A former Scholar in Residence at the National Academy of Sciences, she completed her Ph.D.
in science studies at the University of Chicago
as a Danforth Fellow, and an M.P.H.
at Johns Hopkins University
as a National Cancer Institute post-doctoral fellow.
, Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Hygiene and Public Health.
She served as a visiting professor at University of Missouri
in 1983; Municipal Institute, Barcelona, Spain, in 1985; Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY, Department of Community Medicine, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, in 1988; and visiting scholar at Hebrew University, School of Public Health, Unit of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in 1989.
She is formerly the director of the Center for Environmental Oncology of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
; the multidisciplinary center includes experts in medicine, basic research, engineering and public policy, who developed cutting-edge studies to identify the causes of cancer and propose policies to reduce the risks of the disease.
She served as a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the U.S. National Toxicology Program, 1983-86.
President Clinton appointed the Honorable Dr. Davis to the newly established Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, an independent executive branch agency that investigates, prevents, and mitigates chemical accidents, where she served from 1994–99.
The recipient of a Women’s Leadership Exchange Compass Award, presented by OPEN: The Small Business Network from American Express, for breaking the paradigms of how women are perceived, Dr. Davis received the first Lisa Zhang Environmental Award from the United Nations in July 2008.
In June 2009, Dr. Davis was honored with the Artemis Award presented by the Euro-American Women's Council and the Greek Foreign Ministry in recognition of her outstanding contributions to science and public health policy.
, was a finalist for the National Book Award
in 2002. Davis's second book, The Secret History of the War on Cancer was published by Basic Books in October 2007.
Her new book, Disconnect, debuted in September 2010. It discusses the dangers of modern cell phone use and the ways in which the cell phone industry has gone to lengths to cover these up.
Publications include:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
epidemiologist
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
and writer. She was born on June 7th, 1946, in Washington, DC, the daughter of Harry B. and Jean Langer Davis, and was raised in Donora
Donora, Pennsylvania
Donora is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh on the Monongahela river. Donora was incorporated in 1901. Donora got its name from a combination of William Donner and Nora Mellon, banker Andrew W. Mellon's wife. Agriculture, coal-mining, steel-making, wire-making, and...
and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Her career has spanned all areas of academia, public policy, and scientific research. While Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, she counseled leading officials in the United States, United Nations, European Environment Agency, Pan American Health Organization, World Health Organization, and World Bank.
She has also authored more than 190 publications in books and journals ranging from the Lancet and Journal of the American Medical Association to Scientific American and the New York Times and blogs in Freakonomics for the New York Times, Huffington Post and elsewhere.
Education
Davis graduated from Taylor Allderdice High SchoolTaylor Allderdice High School
Taylor Allderdice High School, also referred to by the Pittsburgh Public Schools as “Pittsburgh Allderdice” or informally by students as "Dice", is a public high school located in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh’s East End. Allderdice is the "largest of the Pittsburgh Public Schools'...
and later received a B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
from the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
in 1967. A former Scholar in Residence at the National Academy of Sciences, she completed her Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in science studies at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
as a Danforth Fellow, and an M.P.H.
Master of Public Health
The Master of Public Health and the Doctor of Public Health are multi-disciplinary professional degrees awarded for studies in areas related to public health....
at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
as a National Cancer Institute post-doctoral fellow.
Professional life
From 1970 to 1976 she was assistant professor of sociology at Queens College of the City University of New York. Beginning in 1982 she was a faculty associate at Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Hygiene and Public Health.
She served as a visiting professor at University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
in 1983; Municipal Institute, Barcelona, Spain, in 1985; Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY, Department of Community Medicine, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, in 1988; and visiting scholar at Hebrew University, School of Public Health, Unit of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in 1989.
She is formerly the director of the Center for Environmental Oncology of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute is a National Cancer Institute -designated Comprehensive Cancer Center located in the Hillman Cancer Center in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
; the multidisciplinary center includes experts in medicine, basic research, engineering and public policy, who developed cutting-edge studies to identify the causes of cancer and propose policies to reduce the risks of the disease.
Other professional activities
A member of both the American Colleges of Toxicology and of Epidemiology, Dr. Davis is also a Visiting Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City. In addition, she was a Visiting Scientist of the Strang Cornell Cancer Prevention Center of the Rockefeller University in 1994.She served as a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the U.S. National Toxicology Program, 1983-86.
Female health
Davis was Scientific Advisor to the Women's Environment and Development Organization in 1995. Davis was also a founding member of the International Breast Cancer Prevention Collaborative Research Group, an organization dedicated to exploring the causes of breast cancer.Environment
She currently serves on the Board of the Climate Institute, and the Coalition of Organizations on the Environment and Jewish Life, and the Earthfire Institute, and is a scientific adviser to the UK registered charity MobileWise. She occasionally discusses avoidable environmental health hazards on national and local programming with NPR, Fox News, CNN, ABC, PBS, BBC. She also served as a Lead Author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—the group awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with the Honorable Al Gore.President Clinton appointed the Honorable Dr. Davis to the newly established Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, an independent executive branch agency that investigates, prevents, and mitigates chemical accidents, where she served from 1994–99.
Awards
She was honored by the Betty Ford Comprehensive Cancer Center and the American Cancer Society with the Breast Cancer Awareness Award, commended by the Director of the National Cancer Institute for Outstanding Service, and appointed a Global Environmental advisor to Newsweek Magazine.The recipient of a Women’s Leadership Exchange Compass Award, presented by OPEN: The Small Business Network from American Express, for breaking the paradigms of how women are perceived, Dr. Davis received the first Lisa Zhang Environmental Award from the United Nations in July 2008.
In June 2009, Dr. Davis was honored with the Artemis Award presented by the Euro-American Women's Council and the Greek Foreign Ministry in recognition of her outstanding contributions to science and public health policy.
Publications
Her book When Smoke Ran Like Water, which begins with the tale of the Donora Smog of 1948Donora Smog of 1948
The 1948 Donora smog was a historic air inversion resulting in a wall of smog that killed 20 people and sickened 7,000 more in Donora, Pennsylvania, a mill town on the Monongahela River, southeast of Pittsburgh.-The incident:...
, was a finalist for the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
in 2002. Davis's second book, The Secret History of the War on Cancer was published by Basic Books in October 2007.
Her new book, Disconnect, debuted in September 2010. It discusses the dangers of modern cell phone use and the ways in which the cell phone industry has gone to lengths to cover these up.
Publications include:
- Trends in Cancer Mortality in Industrial Countries (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences), New York Academy of Sciences, 1990
- Urban Air Pollution Risks to Children: A Global Environmental Health Indicator, World Resources Institute, 1999
- When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales of Environmental Deception And the Battle Against Pollution, Diane Publishing Company, 2002
- The Secret History of the War on Cancer, Basic Books, 2007
- Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family, Dutton Adult, 2010
Listening
- Fresh Air interview, October 4, 2007
- Writer's Voice interview, January, 2008
- TVO (Ontario) interview, October 3, 2008. Length: 26:54
External links
- http://www.epidemiology.pitt.edu/davis.asp - Devra Davis at the Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh
- http://www.environmentalhealthtrust.org/ - Environmental Health Trust, a web site maintained by the Devra Lee Davis Charitable Foundation