Devra Davis

writer, epidemiologist

Designated a National Book Award Finalist for *When Smoke Ran Like Water (2002, Basic Books)*, Devra Davis is director of the worlds first Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburghs Graduate School of Public Health. Her recent book, *The Secret History of the War on Cancer*, was a top pick by *Newsweek* and is being used at major schools of public health, including Harvard, Emory, and Tulane University. Dr. Davis' career has spanned all areas of academia, public policy, and scientific research. President Clinton appointed the honorable Dr. Davis to the newly established Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, (1994-99) an independent executive branch agency that investigates, prevents, and mitigates chemical accidents. As the former senior advisor to the assistant secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, she has counseled leading officials in the United States, United Nations, World Health Organization, and World Bank. She also served as a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in which the group awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with the honorable Al Gore. Dr. Davis holds a BS in physiological psychology and a MA in sociology from the University of Pittsburgh. She completed a PhD in science studies at the University of Chicago as a Danforth Foundation Graduate Fellow and a MPH in epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University as a Senior National Cancer Institute Post-Doctoral Fellow. She has also authored more than 190 publications in books and journals ranging from the *Lancet* and *Journal of the American Medical Association to Scientific American *and *the New York Times.*