Jeremy Howick is a Canadian-born, British residing clinical epidemiologist and philosopher of science. He researches

evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...

clinical empathy Clinical empathy is expressed as the skill of understanding what a patient says and feels, and effectively communicating this understanding to the patient. The opposite of clinical empathy is clinical detachment. Detached concern, or clinical detach ...

and the

philosophy of medicine The philosophy of medicine is a branch of philosophy that explores issues in theory, research, and practice within the field of health sciences. More specifically in topics of epistemology, metaphysics, and medical ethics, which overlaps with bioet ...

, including the use of

placebo A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

s in clinical practice and clinical trials. He is the author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers, as well as two books, ''The Philosophy of Evidence-Based Medicine'' in 2011, and ''Doctor You'' in 2017. In 2016, he received the Dawkins & Strutt grant from the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

to study

pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...

treatment. He publishes in

Philosophy of Medicine The philosophy of medicine is a branch of philosophy that explores issues in theory, research, and practice within the field of health sciences. More specifically in topics of epistemology, metaphysics, and medical ethics, which overlaps with bioet ...

and medical journals. He is a member of the

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

research honours society.

Early life and education

Howick, a native of

Montreal, Canada Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

, is a graduate of Westmount High School. He holds a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Engineering from the

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

, and graduate degrees from The London School of Economics and the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

. His PhD in

Philosophy of medicine The philosophy of medicine is a branch of philosophy that explores issues in theory, research, and practice within the field of health sciences. More specifically in topics of epistemology, metaphysics, and medical ethics, which overlaps with bioet ...

at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

was conducted under the supervision of Professors Nancy Cartwright and John Worrall, with a thesis entitled ''Philosophical essentials in evidence-based medicine: Evaluating the epistemological role of double blinding and placebo controls'', published in 2008. He is the Director of the Oxford Empathy Programme at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford.

International Rowing

As a freshman at

, Howick learned to row. He subsequently competed in internationals for Canada at the 1994 World Championships, and won a silver medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games. He also competed in The Boat Race 1996 representing

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

Professional background

Howick has worked at the

, including at the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine since 2007. Together with

Muir Gray Sir John Armstrong Muir Gray is a British physician, who has held senior positions in screening, public health, information management. and value in healthcare. He is currently the Chief Knowledge Officer for EXi, a digital health therapeut ...

, he founded the Oxford Empathy Programme, and the Oxford Philosophy and Medicine Network.His main post now is at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_la ...

where he is the director of the Stoneygate Centre for Excellence in Empathic Healthcare.

Broadcasting

Howick designed a trial of placebo treatments for back pain for a BBC

Horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether ...

documentary.

Research

Howick is known for his research which combines

with medical research (especially

Evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...

, which he mostly defends. Howick's book, "The Philosophy of Evidence-Based Medicine" came to define a sub-discipline within the

and has been used to develop a course on the History and Philosophy of Medicine at the

Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. The book is a critical defense of the

Hierarchy of evidence A hierarchy of evidence (or levels of evidence) is a heuristic used to rank the relative strength of results obtained from scientific research. There is broad agreement on the relative strength of large-scale, epidemiological studies. More than ...

. His work on

effects includes a systematic review suggesting that the magnitude of placebo effects is similar to the magnitude of drug effects, most notably for treating pain (although the latter includes the placebo effect). and another suggesting that 'honest' placebos (that patients know are placebos) can also be effective. His research currently focuses on empathy, where his main contribution has been to evaluate empathy in healthcare the same way drugs are evaluated, namely with systematic reviews of randomised trials. His research has been translated for popular audiences in his book ''Doctor You''.

References

External links

*
Find an Expert: Dr Jeremy Howick
* Dartmouth College alumni British epidemiologists Philosophers of science 21st-century British philosophers People from Quorn, Leicestershire Living people Academics of the University of Oxford Academics of the University of Leicester Placebo researchers British medical researchers Alumni of the London School of Economics Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-med-bio-stub