Liz Ward, Distinguished Lecturer in Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology
, by Jennifer K. Loukissas, M.P.P.
Dr. Ward accepting a plaque commemorating her Distinguished Lecture visit; with Laura Beane Freeman and Debra Silverman.
In April 2023, Dr. Elizabeth M. Ward visited as a Distinguished Lecturer in Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology. She gave a lecture to the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch (OEEB) entitled “Overview of World Trade Center Exposures and Cancer Studies,” at NCI Shady Grove. As part of her visit, she also met with individual investigators and groups to exchange ideas and participated in a round table discussion with OEEB fellows to discuss issues related to career advancement.
Dr. Ward is a world-renowned expert in occupational epidemiology, having a twenty-year career at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, where she studied cancer incidence and mortality in multiple occupational cohorts. Her work was instrumental in the identification of both beryllium and ortho-toluidine as human carcinogens. As chief of the Industry-Wide Studies Branch—a position she held for seven years—Dr. Ward led a group of epidemiologists and industrial hygienists investigating the effects of agricultural pesticides, indoor air quality, cosmic radiation exposure of aircraft crews and outcomes including reproductive health, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. After retiring from the Public Health Service in 2002, she joined the American Cancer Society’s Intramural Research Department, during which time she served on the NCI’s Board of Scientific Counselors for Clinical Sciences and Epidemiology. Since 2011, she has served as Chair of the World Trade Center Health Program Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee.
Dr. Ward meeting with OEEB Fellows and Staff following her lecture.