Linda Chih-ling Koo (born 1954 in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

), is a Chinese cancer epidemiologist and former lecturer at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...

. She is known for her studies on the relationship between indoor pollution, dietary factors, and

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

in China.

Research

Her research has included examining the links between

passive smoking Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke, called secondhand smoke (SHS), or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), by persons other than the intended "active" smoker. It occurs when tobacco smoke enters an environment, causing its inhalat ...

, incense burning and lung cancer, speculating that these linkages are confounded by poor dietary and lifestyle habits.

Tobacco industry links

She has been criticized for her ties to the

tobacco industry The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...

, which attempted to recruit her as a consultant because she had said she thought that lung cancer was mainly caused by dietary factors. She has acted as a consultant to the tobacco industry, which often cited her research on

confounding factor In statistics, a confounder (also confounding variable, confounding factor, extraneous determinant or lurking variable) is a variable that influences both the dependent variable and independent variable, causing a spurious association. Con ...

s to argue that passive smoking might not cause lung cancer. In a confidential 1989 industry memo,

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the firm advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. In 2021, Vault.com ranked Covington & Burling as th ...

lawyer John Rupp wrote that "‘‘we have reestablished a productive ongoing working relationship with Dr. Linda Koo, who is the single most prominent ETS scientist in all of Asia. Although Dr. Koo...cannot afford formally to join our group, the ability we have developed to consult with her should pay substantial dividends."

1992 plagiarism controversy

In 1992, Koo's University of Hong Kong colleague Lam Tai-hing was found guilty of plagiarizing Koo's questionnaire, which she had devised with her colleague John Ho to study lung cancer among nonsmoking Chinese women. This guilty verdict was upheld by the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

the following year, whereupon the University subsequently announced that Tai-Hing would be investigated by a university committee. In 1995, this committee found Tai-Hing not guilty of "disgraceful or dishonorable" conduct, a decision which Koo and Ho appealed to a judicial review later that year. On October 24, 1995, the university rejected Koo and Ho's appeal.

External Link

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koo, Linda Chih-Ling Living people 1954 births Cancer epidemiologists University of Hong Kong faculty Linda Koo Thai emigrants to Hong Kong