Ethel S. Gilbert is an American biostatistician and an expert in the risks of

radiation-induced cancer Exposure to ionizing radiation is known to increase the future incidence of cancer, particularly leukemia. The mechanism by which this occurs is well understood, but quantitative models predicting the level of risk remain controversial. The most wi ...

, including cancers in nuclear workers and second cancers in

radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy (RT, RTx, or XRT) is a therapy, treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of treatment of cancer, cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignancy, malignant cell (biology), ...

patients.

Education and career

Gilbert is a graduate of

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

, and completed a Ph.D. in biostatistics at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. She has worked at the

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is one of the United States Department of Energy national laboratories, managed by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science. The main campus of the laboratory is in Richland, Washington ...

, the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, and at the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

from 1996 until her 2016 retirement. She also held a faculty position in biostatistics and biomathematics at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Recognition

Gilbert won the George W. Snedecor Award of the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies in 1981 for her work on "the assessment of risks from occupational exposure to ionizing radiation". She became a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1988. She won the

NIH MERIT award The NIH MERIT award (Method To Extend Research in Time) Award (R37) was created by the National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical an ...

in 2003, and the National Cancer Institute gave her their Director's Award in 2015. In 2016, the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

gave Gilbert their Gold Medal for Radiation Protection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Ethel S. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American statisticians American women statisticians Oberlin College alumni University of Michigan alumni University of Washington faculty Fellows of the American Statistical Association