|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
MARGARET MERRELL Dr. Margaret Merrell, who would become known as
one of the finest teachers of biostatistics to health professionals,
entered the Department of Biostatistics as a doctoral student in 1925 and
joined the faculty shortly thereafter; she earned her
ScD degree in 1930. She contributed both
to substantive knowledge about human health as well as new statistical
methods which made epidemiologic studies more effective. With her mentor,
colleague, and friend Lowell Reed, she wrote the
landmark paper "A Short Method for Constructing an Abridged Life Table,"
which appeared in the American Journal of Hygiene in 1939. Dr.
Merrell served the department under the chairmanships of Lowell Reed,
William Cochran, and Jerome Cornfield and was also the acting chair
in the interim between the tenures of Jerome Cornfield and Allyn Kimball. One famous British biometrician
identified her as the intellectual power behind the throne. She was most
admired, however, for her influence on her students. An outstanding
teacher in large or small groups, she continually updated her lectures to
include real and important current examples. One of her students remarked
that Dr. Merrell was internationally recognized as the best teacher in her
field, bar none. She retired in 1959. The Department honors her legacy
of pioneering research through its annual Margaret Merrell Award.
(Color photograph courtesy of
Dr. Calvin Zippin)
|
|
