Epidemiologists

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The individuals solving medical mysteries, epidemiologists are the people who stand at the forefront of public health safety. With an academic background in subjects like biology, mathematics, medicine and statistics they aim to find the cause of the disease outbreak and the ways to prohibit the spreading of the disease. They try to relate the medical condition with different causes such as human behavior, environmental agents like toxins and spores genetic triggers and geographical constraints. An epidemiologist can solve the ‘medical mystery’ by asking several questions. For example, they can question causes of a disease like cancer and its prevention. Another aspect is to study the ‘vector’ or host which carries the virus and transmits. At the next level, they study the population at risk from a new pathogen. With their research and studies, they aim to reduce risks of public health and work for the prevention of these diseases. From Hippocrates who was the first epidemiologist and found words like ‘epidemic’ and ‘endemic’ to Louis Pasteur who carried out groundbreaking research work on Rabies, epidemiologists have become vital for public health safety. Discover this space for the list of famous epidemiologists with their biographies that include trivia and interesting facts about them and also trace their timeline and life history.
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 1 
Carlo Urbani
(Epidemiologist)
Carlo Urbani
6
Birthdate: October 19, 1956
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Castelplanio
Died: March 29, 2003
Microbiologist Carlo Urbani, a parasitic infections expert, was working at the WHO Hanoi office when the deadly and contagious disease SARS had started to spread across the world in 2003. He alerted the WHO headquarters in Geneva about the disease, thus saving many lives, though he eventually succumbed to it.
 2 
Carlos Finlay
(Epidemiologist)
Carlos Finlay
3
Birthdate: December 3, 1833
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Camagüey, Cuba
Died: August 20, 1915
 3 
Donald Henderson
(Medical Doctor)
Donald Henderson
3
Birthdate: September 7, 1928
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Lakewood, Ohio, United States
Died: August 19, 2016
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 4 
Michelle Bachelet
(33rd and 35th President of Chile)
Michelle Bachelet
11
Birthdate: September 29, 1951
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Santiago, Chile

Chilean politician Michelle Bachelet serves as 7th United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She became the first female politician in Chilean history who was elected as the country’s President and the first elected female leader in South America. She served as the 33rd and 35th President of Chile and held several other prominent positions during her expansive political career.

 5 
William Farr
(Medical doctor)
William Farr
3
Birthdate: November 30, 1807
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Kenley, England
Died: April 14, 1883
 6 
Max Theiler
(Virologist)
Max Theiler
3
Birthdate: January 30, 1899
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Pretoria, South Africa
Died: August 11, 1972

Max Theiler was a South African-American virologist and physician. After getting his medical degree in South Africa, he went on to earn a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene in London. During his career, he developed a vaccine against yellow fever, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1951. 

 7 
Richard Doll
(Physician)
Richard Doll
3
Birthdate: October 28, 1912
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Hampton, Middlesex, England
Died: July 24, 2005
 8 
Adi Utarini
(Scientist)
Adi Utarini
3
Birthdate: June 4, 1965
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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 9 
David Sackett
(Physician)
David Sackett
0
Birthdate: November 17, 1934
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: May 13, 2015
 10 
Nathan Wolfe
(American Virologist & Epidemiologist Known for His Research on the Transmission of Infectious Viruses)
Nathan Wolfe
7
Birthdate: August 24, 1970
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, United States

Nathan Wolfe is an American virologist best known for founding a not-for-profit organization called Global Viral, where he is serving as the director. Wolfe, who is also credited with founding Metabiota, spent more than eight years in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa conducting biomedical research. In 2009, Wolfe was mentioned in Rolling Stone magazine's Top 100 Agents of Change list.

 11 
Theobald Smith
(Pathologist)
Theobald Smith
7
Birthdate: July 31, 1859
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Albany, New York, United States
Died: December 10, 1934
 12 
Hans Zinsser
(Physician)
Hans Zinsser
2
Birthdate: November 17, 1878
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: September 4, 1940
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 13 
Thomas Francis Jr.
(American Physician, Virologist, and Epidemiologist Known for Development of Vaccine Against Influenza Virus A and B)
Thomas Francis Jr.
7
Birthdate: July 15, 1900
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Gas City, Indiana, United States
Died: October 1, 1969

Microbiologist Thomas Francis, Jr. is best remembered for identifying the influenza A and influenza B strains and creating a vaccine effective against both. He also contributed to the research on the treatment of pneumonia. His medical research won his many accolades and awards, such as the Medal of Freedom.

 14 
Monica Musenero
(Ugandan women scientist)
Monica Musenero
0
Birthdate: 1965 AD
Birthplace: Patete, Butebo District, Uganda
 15 
Richard Mead
(British Physician Known for His Contributions to the Field of Epidemiology)
Richard Mead
2
Birthdate: August 11, 1673
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Stepney, London, England
Died: February 16, 1754

Eighteenth-century English doctor Richard Mead is remembered for his study on transmissible diseases such as smallpox, scurvy, and measles. He also wrote on the treatment of snake venom victims. An avid reader, he owned a huge collection of books, too. A satirized version of his character appears in Tristram Shandy.

 16 
Basil Hetzel
(Epidemiologist, Scientist)
Basil Hetzel
0
Birthdate: June 13, 1922
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: London, England
Died: February 4, 2017
 17 
William Budd
(British Physician and Epidemiologist Known for Recognizing That Infectious Diseases Were Contagious)
William Budd
4
Birthdate: September 14, 1811
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: North Tawton, Devon, England
Died: January 9, 1880

English epidemiologist William Budd was the first to find out that water was a source of typhoid fever, by linking deaths due to the disease to the lemonade that the victims had consumed at an inn party. His studies also put a stamp on the theory that infectious diseases were contagious.

 18 
Julian Peto
(Statistician)
Julian Peto
9
Birthplace: England
 19 
Janet Lane-Claypon
1
Birthdate: February 3, 1877
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Lincolnshire
Died: July 17, 1967
 20 
Salvador Mazza
(Was a Noted Argentine Physician, Epidemiologist)
Salvador Mazza
1
Birthdate: June 6, 1886
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Rauch, Argentina
Died: November 9, 1946

Best remembered for his fight against American trypanosomiasis, Salvador Mazza had to face governmental apathy as well as active resistance from powerful quarters while carrying on his research. Yet, he continued with his mission, setting up his first laboratory in a railway car in Argentina’s underdeveloped north, eventually forcing the South American medical community to accept the validity of trypanosomiasis.  

 21 
Alexander Langmuir
(Epidemiologist)
Alexander Langmuir
6
Birthdate: September 12, 1910
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Santa Monica, California, United States
Died: November 22, 1993
 22 
Giovanni Maria Lancisi
(Physician)
Giovanni Maria Lancisi
6
Birthdate: October 26, 1654
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Died: January 20, 1720
 23 
R. Palmer Beasley
(American Physician, Public Health Educator and Epidemiologist)
R. Palmer Beasley
0
Birthdate: April 29, 1936
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Died: August 25, 2012

Best known for revolutionizing medical science with his research on hepatitis B, American physician R. Palmer Beasley was the first to find a link between the HPV virus and liver cancer. Though born into a family of bankers, he chose to study medicine at Harvard.

 24 
Giulio Giorello
(Philosopher)
Giulio Giorello
1
Birthdate: May 14, 1945
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Milan, Italy
Died: June 15, 2020

A highly intellectual scholar and a reputed epistemologist, Giulio Giorello graduated from the University of Milan with philosophy and mathematics. He later taught physics and natural science in a number of reputed universities across Italy before being appointed as professor of philosophy of science at his alma mater. A prolific writer, he published around twenty major works in his lifetime.

 25 
Mercedes Pascual
(Uruguayan Academic and Theoretical Ecologist)
Mercedes Pascual
1
Birthplace: Uruguay

Mercedes Pascual is a Uruguayan academic and theoretical ecologist. She is best known for her association with the University of Chicago, where she serves as a professor of Ecology and Evolution. She also leads a laboratory at the University of Chicago. Over the course of her career, Mercedes Pascual has won several prestigious awards, including the Robert H. MacArthur Award.

 26 
George W. Comstock
(Physician)
George W. Comstock
5
Birthdate: January 7, 1915
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Niagara Falls, New York, United States
Died: July 15, 2007

Renowned epidemiologist George W. Comstock is best remembered for his pathbreaking research on tuberculosis. Born to a metallurgical engineer, he had initially aspired to follow in his father’s footsteps but chose to study medicine at Harvard instead. His research areas included cancer and cardiovascular diseases, too.