Helen Abbey

Helen Abbey (September 1, 1915 – March 4, 2001) was an American biostatistician known for her research on the health effects of radiation and on infections among Native Americans, and for her prolific mentoring of students in statistics.[1][2] She was affiliated with Johns Hopkins University for over 50 years.[2]

Helen Abbey
Born(1915-09-01)September 1, 1915
DiedMarch 4, 2001(2001-03-04) (aged 85)
NationalityAmerican
EducationBattle Creek College
University of Michigan
Johns Hopkins University
Scientific career
FieldsBiostatistics
ThesisAn Examination of the Reed-Frost Theory of Epidemics
Doctoral advisorWilliam Gemmell Cochran
Notable studentsVictor A. McKusick
Alfred Sommer
Ann Zauber

Education and career

Abbey graduated from Battle Creek College (now Andrews University) in 1940,[2] and earned a master's degree in mathematics in 1942 at the University of Michigan. She became a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in 1946 and, while there, completed a doctorate in biostatistics in 1951.[1]

At Johns Hopkins, she became affiliated with the departments of biostatistics, epidemiology, population and family health sciences, medicine, and ophthalmology.[1] She retired in 1999.[2]

Contributions

The topics of her own research included the effects of low-level radiation on cataracts, skin cancer, and other health issues, and the history of food-borne diseases among Native American populations.[1][2] One of Abbey's studies, a 1952 work on infectious diseases, has been called "the classic study" of the Reed–Frost model in small communities.[3]

Former students

Abbey taught over 4000 students at Johns Hopkins and was the mentor to over 700 graduate theses and dissertations.[1][2] The story went that "if you parachuted anywhere on earth, you would land within 50 miles of a former student" of hers.[4]

Former students of her include the following:

Recognition

Abbey became a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1976.[6] She was also a winner of the American Public Health Association Award.[1][2]

The Helen Abbey and Margaret Merrell Professorship in Biostatistics Education at Johns Hopkins University is named after her and Professor Margaret Merrell. Part of the initial funding for the position was funded by her estate after she passed away.[7]

See also

References
  1. Dr. Helen Abbey: In Memoriam, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, retrieved 2019-01-21
  2. Kelly, Jacques (March 6, 2001), "Dr. Helen Abbey, 85, professor of biostatistics at Hopkins for 50 years", Baltimore Sun
  3. Fine, Paul (2012), "Applications of mathematical models to the epidemiology of influenza: a critique", in Selby, P. (ed.), Influenza Models: Prospects for Development and Use, Springer, doi:10.1007/978-94-011-8050-4_2, ISBN 9789401180504. See in particular p. 40.
  4. Thomas, Karen Kruse (2016), Health and Humanity: A History of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 1935–1985, JHU Press, p. 101, ISBN 9781421421087
  5. Karen Kruse Thomas (July 2016). Health and Humanity: A History of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 1935–1985. JHU Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-4214-2108-7.
  6. ASA Fellows list, American Statistical Association, archived from the original on 2019-04-25, retrieved 2019-01-21
  7. "Helen Abbey and Margaret Merrell Professorship in Biostatistics Education". Johns Hopkins University. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
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