History

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was founded in 1918 and included the Department of Biometry and Vital Statistics, a precursor to the Biostatistics Department of today. This was the first academic department of statistical science in the world.

Chairs of the Department of Biostatistics:

• Raymond Pearl (Chair: 1918-1926)
• Lowell Reed (Chair: 1926-1948)
• William Cochran (Chair: 1948-1958)
• Jerome Cornfield (Chair: 1958-1960)
• Allyn Kimball (Faculty Member: 1960-1984; Chair: 1960-1966)
• Alan Ross (Faculty Member: 1964-1996; Chair: 1967-1981)
• Charles Rohde (Faculty Member: 1964-2023; Chair: 1981-1996)
• Scott Zeger (Faculty Member: 1982-Present; Chair: 1996-2009)
• Karen Bandeen-Roche (Faculty Member: 2008-Present; Chair: 2009-2023)
• Elizabeth Stuart (Faculty Member: 2015-Present; Chair: 2023-Present)

Others who played key roles in our Department's development include:

• Margaret Merrell (Faculty Member: 1925-1959)
• Paul Meier (Faculty Member: 1952-1957)
• David Duncan (Faculty Member: 1960-1984)
• Helen Abbey (Faculty Member: 1951-2001)
• Alan Gittelsohn (Faculty Member: 1964-1992)