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Mervyn Susser, Big Picture Thinker And Pioneer In Epidemiology,
Dies At Age 92
Mervyn Susser, an
epidemiology colleague with a history of multiple careers beginning
in South Africa, then moving to the United Kingdom, and finally to
the United States where he headed the department of epidemiology at
Columbia University and founded the Sergievsky Center, passed away
at his home in Hastings-on-Hudson on August 14, 2014, according to a
New York Times obituary. The news was received with sadness at the
International Epidemiological Association meeting in Anchorage
Alaska in mid-August. Leading epidemiologists in the field called
him a “giant in the field” and signaled the loss of a
personality “rare” and “very precious” to the field (see articles
this issue).
Pioneer
Beginning with his experiences combatting apartheid in South Africa,
Susser developed a strong emphasis on the role of social factors in
causing disease and he promoted this orientation throughout his
career. His first book “Sociology and Medicine” in 1962 enhanced his
reputation early on as an innovative thinker about disease, and he
is widely credited with helping the field establish proven methods
for studying and treating disease, according to the Times. Columbia
University called him “one of the pioneers of epidemiology in the
twentieth century”, and noted that “his emphasis on the relationship
between society and disease is foundational to the discipline as it
is practiced today.”
Causal Thinking
Susser is perhaps best known for the book he authored entitled
“Causal Thinking in the Health Sciences” which predated much of the
modern work on causality and causal inference. He told Nigel
Paneth in a 2003 interview published in Epidemiology that he
would like to be most remembered for that work.
Value of Epidemiology
Susser served as the editor of the American Journal of Public Health
between 1992 and 1998 and he was always focused on the philosophy
and ultimate purpose of epidemiology which he identified clearly as
the objective to improve population health. When asked by Paneth
what he considered epidemiology’s most important contribution to
society, he answered “Ameliorating and improving the health of the
public…Epidemiology teaches you how you might go about changing
things and be sure that you have changed them for the better, which
is not always the case…Epidemiology keeps your feet on the ground
and keeps your goals within reachable distance or frames them so
they are.”
Obituaries Published To Date
Obituaries have appeared in multiple locations since mid-August and
we reprint below some excerpts from these publications. The
Epidemiology Monitor is also publishing two appreciations by
Columbia’s Alfredo Morabia and Michigan State University’s
Nigel Paneth in this issue.
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American College of Epidemiology
Full obituary
http://tinyurl.com/kjztaax
Of particular note is the
recognition of his numerous contributions to the
field and his leadership in by the awarding to
him of the American College of Epidemiology’s
Abraham M. Lilienfeld Award. He was also a
recipient of the John Snow Award from the
Epidemiology Section of the American Public
Health Association.
During the later stages of his career, Susser
was a frequent collaborator with his son Ezra,
himself a major figure in the field, regarding
the state of epidemiology and its development.
As one of the architects of modern epidemiology,
his vision and energy enlightened and moved the
field forward, and we are now the poorer for its
absence.
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New York Times
Full
obituary:
http://tinyurl.com/kle4cjg
Dr. Susser saw his field change over his career,
and he worried at times that epidemiology was
shifting from public health to what he called
“big science,” detached from directly serving
people. In the 2003 interview, he recalled how
he and his wife turned to medicine after
witnessing apartheid and then seeing Jews and
other populations killed during World War II.
“The social and political commitment we then
made stayed with us,” he said. “It all flowed
from the anti-apartheid struggle and broadened
into human rights, something one had to pay
attention to and do what one could.”
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Columbia University Department of
Epidemiology 2x2 Newsletter
Newsletter Link: http://tinyurl.com/ncyusft
This newsletter from February
2011 quotes several colleagues speaking out
about Susser’s contributions.
“One nugget in Sociology in Medicine frames my
entire career. It reads as follows, ‘Societies
in part create the disease they experience and,
further, they materially shape the way diseases
are to be experienced.’ As a social
epidemiologist my job is to understand the
social ‘creating’ and ‘shaping’ of population
health and to effectively communicate that
understanding to others.”
—Dr. Bruce Link
“Mervyn put
THINKING back into epidemiology and he is
thoroughly impatient with cookbook approaches
that undermine serious, incisive thinking.”
—Dr. Louise Kuhn
“The totality of Mervyn’s work weaves a path to
understanding the underlying goals of
epidemiology; they are truly to have a macro to
micro perspective on health and disease, from
the social environment to subcellular
processes.”
—Dr. Pam Factor-Litvak
“To me, one of Dr. Susser’s most influential
works is Causal Thinking in the Health Sciences.
Its clarity and economy make it a timeless
reference and a pleasure to read. Dr. Susser is
a truly integrative thinker, a brilliant
epidemiologist, and an extraordinary writer. In
this slim volume, he demonstrates beautifully
that epidemiology is at once a science and an
art.”
—Dr. Dana March
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