Warren Winkelstein Jr. (1 July 1922 – 22 July 2012) was 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 ...

, professor in the School of Public Health at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and a member of the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...

of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. During the 1960s Winkelstein was considered one of the leading epidemiologists of the time. Winkelstein was born in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, the son of a prominent lawyer. After graduating from the

Putney School The Putney School is an independent high school in Putney, Vermont. The school was founded in 1935 by Carmelita Hinton on the principles of the Progressive Education movement and the teachings of its principal exponent, John Dewey. It is a co-ed ...

, he served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

during World War II. He subsequently attended the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, where he majored in sociology. He then attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

for medical school, graduating in 1947. He also obtained a Master's of Public Health from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1950. After working in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

for several years under Abraham Morris Lilienfeld, he accepted an appointment at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, serving as Dean of the school from 1972 to 1981. Winkelstein has made important contributions in a number of areas of epidemiology. Early in his academic career, he participated in clinical trials of the

polio vaccine Polio vaccines are vaccines used to prevent poliomyelitis (polio). Two types are used: an inactivated poliovirus given by injection (IPV) and a weakened poliovirus given by mouth (OPV). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends all chil ...

. During his time in Buffalo, Winkelstein studied the health impact of the city's

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

, successfully separating the effect of pollution from other confounding social and environmental factors, and also contributed greatly to the understanding of

coronary artery disease Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial ischemia, or simply heart disease, involves the reduction of blood flow to the heart muscle due to build-up of atherosclerotic pla ...

in women. At Berkeley, Winkelstein did pioneering research on the link between

tobacco smoke Tobacco smoke is a sooty aerosol produced by the incomplete combustion of tobacco during the tobacco smoking, smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Temperatures in burning cigarettes range from about 400 °C between puffs to abo ...

and

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

. It took over two decades for those findings to be widely accepted. In the 1980s and thereafter, Winkelstein's work was focused mainly on

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

and the

AIDS pandemic The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2021, HIV/AI ...

. Winkelstein led the San Francisco Men's Health Study, one of the largest and best-described cohorts of people at risk for HIV/AIDS. By studying this cohort, Winkelstein and his collaborators were able to contribute greatly to the understanding of the epidemiology of HIV and AIDS, in particular the modes of viral transmission, risk factors for progression to AIDS, and duration of the incubation period. Winkelstein also addressed

Peter Duesberg Peter H. Duesberg (born December 2, 1936) is a German-American molecular biologist and a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is known for his early research into the genetic aspects of cancer. He ...

's arguments that AIDS was related to drug use rather than HIV infection, demonstrating, along with immunologist Michael Ascher and other colleagues, that "such claims have no basis in fact." Since retiring and assuming emeritus status, Winkelstein worked on biographical sketches of major figures in the history of epidemiology, including

John Snow John Snow (15 March 1813 – 16 June 1858) was an English physician and a leader in the development of anaesthesia and medical hygiene. He is considered one of the founders of modern epidemiology, in part because of his work in tracing the so ...

Edward Jenner Edward Jenner, (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was a British physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines, and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms ''vaccine'' and ''vaccination'' are derived f ...

, and his mentor,

Abraham Lilienfeld Abraham Morris Lilienfeld (November 13, 1920 – August 6, 1984) was an American epidemiologist and professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He is known for his work in expanding epidemiology to focus on chronic disease ...

. He died in 2012 at home in Point Richmond, California of complications of an infection at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkelstein, Warren 2012 deaths People from Syracuse, New York American epidemiologists Members of the National Academy of Medicine Syracuse University alumni Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health alumni 1922 births UC Berkeley School of Public Health faculty The Putney School alumni United States Army personnel of World War II