Mary Elizabeth (Betz) Halloran is an American biostatistician who works as a professor of biostatistics, professor of

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

, and adjunct professor of

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

at 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 Seattl ...

Education and career

Halloran studied

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and

philosophy of mathematics The philosophy of mathematics is the branch of philosophy that studies the assumptions, foundations, and implications of mathematics. It aims to understand the nature and methods of mathematics, and find out the place of mathematics in peop ...

for two years as an undergraduate at Case Western Reserve University, from 1968 to 1970,Curriculum vitae
retrieved 2015-07-12. before leaving school to join the

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

movement in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

.Background to CV
retrieved 2015-07-12. Deciding to study medicine, she returned to school, completing a bachelor's degree in general science at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in 1972. She traveled to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

to continue her studies at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics and the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

from 1973 to 1975, studied medicine at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

in England in 1981, and completed an M.D. at the Free University of Berlin in 1983. Her goal at that time was to practice medicine in the developing world, so she continued to study tropical diseases at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

in 1984, and then earned a master of public health degree 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 high ...

in 1985. In that program, she rekindled her interest in

mathematical modeling A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used in the natural sciences (such as physics, b ...

, and she stayed at Harvard as a graduate student, earning a D.Sc. in population sciences from Harvard in 1989. After postdoctoral research at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

and

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, she joined

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

as an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in 1989, and was promoted to full professor in 1998. At Emory, she directed the Center for AIDS Research from 2002 to 2005, and the Center for Highthroughput Experimental Design and Analysis from 2004 to 2005. She moved to the University of Washington in 2005. In 2009, she founded the Summer Institute in Statistics and Modeling in Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington, and continues to serve as its director.

Research

Halloran studies causal inference and the biostatistics of

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...

s. She is a long-term collaborator with

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

researcher Ira Longini, with whom she studies the spread of influenza. She has also been quoted as an expert on the mortality rates of other diseases such as ebola and cholera, and the factors influencing those rates. With Longini and Claudio J. Struchiner, she is a co-author of the book ''Design and Analysis of Vaccine Studies'' (Springer, 2009).

Awards and honors

In 1996, Halloran was elected as a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest continuousl ...

, in 1997 she became a 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. ...

, and in 2009 she became a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.Halloran named AAAS Fellow
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, December 21, 2009, retrieved 2015-07-12. In 2005 and 2006 she held the Dr. Ross Prentice Professorship of Biostatistics at the University of Washington.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halloran, Betz American statisticians 20th-century American mathematicians Biostatisticians Emory University faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Statistical Association Fellows of the Royal Statistical Society Free University of Berlin alumni Harvard School of Public Health alumni University of Oregon alumni University of Washington faculty Women mathematicians Women statisticians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American mathematicians Members of the National Academy of Medicine