Norman Edward Breslow (February 21, 1941 – December 9, 2015) was an American

statistician A statistician is a person who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, and statisticians may wor ...

and medical researcher. At the time of his death, he was Professor (Emeritus) of Biostatistics in the School of Public Health, of the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. He is co-author or author of hundreds of published works during 1967 to 2015. Among his many accomplishments is his work with co-author Nicholas Day that developed and popularized the use of case-control matched sample

research design Research design refers to the overall strategy utilized to carry out research that defines a succinct and logical plan to tackle established research question(s) through the collection, interpretation, analysis, and discussion of data. Incorporat ...

s, in the two-volume work ''Statistical Methods in Cancer Research''. This was with view that matched sample studies have a role within larger program of many types of studies, in making progress on a vast and important problem like cancer. Matched sample studies can quickly and cheaply test some hypothesized relationships, but their apparent findings are not definitive, and there's much they cannot accomplish. Their results, however, can inform the design of slow and expensive longitudinal large-cohort studies that are definitive, for example. Dose-response studies and other studies, too, are elements of a rational scientific program to address cancer. In 2015, he died of prostate cancer. Breslow was an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

of the U.K. His other professional awards an honors include: ``the Speigelman Gold Medal Award from the American Public Health Association (1978); the Snedecor Award (1995) and R.A. Fisher Award (1995) from the

Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies The Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) comprises the presidents, past presidents and presidents-elect of the following, primarily Northern American, professional societies of statisticians: * American Statistical Association * ...

; the Nathan Mantel Award (2002) from the ASA Section on Statistics in Epidemiology; the Marvin Zelen Leadership Award in Statistical Science from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(2008); and the Medal of Honor,

International Agency for Research on Cancer The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; french: Centre International de Recherche sur le Cancer, CIRC) is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations. Its role is to conduct and ...

(2005)". He was also 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 ...

at the same time as his father, Lester Breslow.

References

Norman Breslow dies at 74; biostatistician's work led to advances in medical research

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

, December 28, 2015. Accessed June 28, 2018
Dr. Norman Breslow, 74, dies; UW biostatistician led advances in medical research

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...

, December 31, 2015. Accessed June 28, 2018

External links

Conference on Statistical Methods in Epidemiology and Observational Studies
* 1941 births 2015 deaths American statisticians American medical researchers Fellows of the American Statistical Association People from Minneapolis Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Biostatisticians Fellows of the Royal Statistical Society Members of the National Academy of Medicine {{US-statistician-stub