Alice Segers Whittemore is an American

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and risk factor, determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decision ...

and

biostatistician Biostatistics (also known as biometry) are the development and application of statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...

who studies the effects of genetics and lifestyle on cancer, after an earlier career as a pure mathematician studying

group theory In abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as group (mathematics), groups. The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as ring (mathematics), rings, field ...

. She works as a professor of health research and policy and of biomedical data science at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, and has served as president of the

International Biometric Society The International Biometric Society (IBS) is an international professional and academic society promoting the development and application of statistical and mathematical theory and methods in the biosciences, including biostatistics. It sponsors ...

Education and career

Whittemore originally studied pure mathematics. Her bachelor's degree is from Marymount Manhattan College, and she completed a Ph.D. in 1967, from the

Graduate Center of the City University of New York The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and post-graduate university in New York City. Serving as the principal doctorate-granting institution of the ...

with a dissertation on

Frattini subgroup In mathematics, particularly in group theory, the Frattini subgroup \Phi(G) of a group is the intersection of all maximal subgroups of . For the case that has no maximal subgroups, for example the trivial group or a Prüfer group, it is defined ...

s supervised by

Gilbert Baumslag Gilbert Baumslag (April 30, 1933 – October 20, 2014) was a Distinguished Professor at the City College of New York, with joint appointments in mathematics, computer science, and electrical engineering. He was director of thCenter for Algorithms ...

."Alice S. Whittemore: An Oral History"
conducted by Joy Scott, Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program, Standford University, 2015, page 16. As a professor of mathematics at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

, she became interested in epidemiology and statistics, and took a fellowship to

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

to accomplish that shift of interests, under the mentorship of

Joseph Keller Joseph Bishop Keller (July 31, 1923 – September 7, 2016) was an American mathematician who specialized in applied mathematics. He was best known for his work on the "geometrical theory of diffraction" (GTD). Early life and education Born i ...

. Keller and Whittemore married and moved together to Stanford in 1978. There Whittemore became a professor in the Department of Health Research and Policy. She was chief of epidemiology there from 1997 to 2001, and later became co-chair of the department. Keller died in 2016.

Contributions

One of Whittemore's studies found a link between

fertility drug Fertility medications, also known as fertility drugs, are medications which enhance reproductive fertility. For women, fertility medication is used to stimulate follicle development of the ovary. There are very few fertility medication options av ...

s and

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

, especially strong among women who were treated with the drugs but failed to conceive.

Awards and honors

In 1992, Whittemore was elected as a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

. She is also a

fellow of the American Statistical Association Like many other academic professional societies, the American Statistical Association (ASA) uses the title of Fellow of the American Statistical Association as its highest honorary grade of membership. The number of new fellows per year is limited ...

, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. In 2004, she won the Janet L. Norwood Award for outstanding achievement by a woman in the statistical sciences. In 2010, the Statistics in Epidemiology section of the American Statistical Association gave her their Nathan Mantel Lifetime Achievement Award. She was the recipient of the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies

Florence Nightingale David Award The Florence Nightingale David Award is an award given every two years (in odd-numbered years) jointly by the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies and Caucus for Women in Statistics to a distinguished female statistician. Description ...

in 2005 and R. A. Fisher Lectureship in 2016 "for her fundamental contributions to biostatistics and epidemiology, covering a wide range of topics from environmental risk assessment to genetic linkage analysis, genetic association studies and cancer epidemiology; for bringing her statistical and mathematical insight to bear on the collection and interpretation of scientific data; for her leadership in large consortia of cancer studies; and for being a role model for many young scientists".

Selected publications

* *. *. *. *. *.

References

External links

Home page"Alice S. Whittemore: An Oral History,"
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Whittemore, Alice S. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians 20th-century American women 21st-century American women American women epidemiologists American epidemiologists American statisticians Women mathematicians Women statisticians Group theorists Marymount Manhattan College alumni CUNY Graduate Center alumni Hunter College alumni Hunter College faculty Stanford University faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Statistical Association Members of the National Academy of Medicine