February 21, 2023
The American Stroke Association has named George Howard, DrPH, distinguished professor of Biostatistics in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, the winner of the David G. Sherman Lecture Award. The award recognizes lifetime contributions for investigation, management, mentorship and community service in the stroke field.
Howard is an internationally renowned expert in the study of risk factors for stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. He is the principal investigator for the UAB REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study, or REGARDS, a national study that examines why more African Americans die from strokes than do other races, and why people in the Southeast develop more strokes than other areas of the nation. The study has received nearly $100 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health since it began in 2003.
Howard’s career in public health and medicine spans more than 40 years, with more than 20 years at UAB. He has published 21 book chapters, 565 articles and eight letters in an array of biomedical areas, with emphasis on biostatistics and epidemiology methods, stroke, chronic disease epidemiology, and neurological diseases. His most recent paper, published in the medical journal Neurology, found the impact of certain stroke risks differed between age groups. Specifically, high blood pressure and diabetes were more significant factors in younger populations than in those older than 74.
“UAB is fortunate to have George Howard — for a biostatistician to be awarded the David G. Sherman Lecture Award is a phenomenal achievement,” said Paul Erwin, M.D., DrPH, dean of the UAB School of Public Health. “His work is directly contributing to the health and well-being of millions of people who are at risk for adverse stroke-related outcomes. It is an honor to have him as a colleague.”