Ronald Okun (born August 7, 1932) is an American physician and pharmacologist. He testified before the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

three times on behalf of

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 ...

in the 1960s and 1970s, attempting to discredit the fact that smoking causes illness. He was also the co-

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of the ''

Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology The ''Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes review articles about pharmacology and toxicology. It was first published in 1961 as the ''Annual Review of Pharmacology'', changing its name i ...

'' from 1977–1989. For at least twenty years, he was the director of clinical pharmacology at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

Early life and education

Ronald Okun was born in California on August 7, 1932 to parents Sol and Bertha Okun, Jewish emigrants from Russia. He had an older sister, Anna, and brother, Seymour. He attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA) for his bachelor's degree, graduating in 1954. He then attended the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...

for a master's degree in pharmacology and toxicology and

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

; he received both degrees in 1958.

Career

Following the completion of his MD, Okun completed an internship and residency at a veterans' hospital in Los Angeles. This was followed by a research fellowship at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

from 1961–1963. In 1963 he was appointed the director of clinical pharmacology at

as well as an assistant professor of medicine and pharmacology at UCLA. From 1964–1971 he was a research pharmacologist at a veterans' hospital in

North Hills, Los Angeles North Hills, known previously as Sepulveda, is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. North Hills was originally part of an agricultural community known as Mission Acres. After WWII, the newly-developed s ...

; from 1969–1971 he was a pharmacological consultant for the California Department of Public Health. In 1970 he began teaching as an associate professor of medicine, medical pharmacology, and therapeutics at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

. Okun testified before Congress on behalf of the tobacco industry in 1969, 1972, and 1976 saying, in part, that he could not find "persuasive evidence that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer". From 1973–1976, Okun was one of four physicians in California responsible for nearly all pharmaceutical testing on prisoners in the state, along with J. Alfred Rider, William L. Epstein, and

Howard Maibach Howard I Maibach is an American dermatologist, professor of Dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). His major contributions include seminal work in wound management, and extensive work in patient care, dermatophysiolo ...

. He remained the head of Cedars-Sinai pharmacology department and a professor at UCLA until at least 1984. Along with Robert George, he was the co-

of the ''

'' from 1977–1989.

Selected publications

Some of Okun's most-cited publications include: * * *

Awards and honors

In 1973, he was the president of the

American Academy of Clinical Toxicology The American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (AACT) is a non-profit multidisciplinary health association that promotes research, education, prevention, and treatment of diseases caused by chemicals. Its membership consists of clinical and resear ...

; he was elected as a fellow to the society in 1976. He was also made a fellow of the

American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians (ACP) is a national organization of internists, who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of adults.Sokanu "What is an Internist?" Retrieved October 20, 2014 With 161,000 members, ACP is the largest ...

in 1972.

Personal life

He was married to Katherine G. Okun, with whom he had three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okun, Ronald 1932 births Living people American pharmacologists American people of Russian-Jewish descent University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of California, San Francisco alumni Cedars-Sinai Medical Center University of California, Los Angeles faculty University of California, Irvine faculty Annual Reviews (publisher) editors