Leon Gordis was an American epidemiologist, professor and author, whose textbook Epidemiology provided a foundation for the understanding of epidemiologic principles and clinical applications.
11 Facts About Leon Gordis
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The son of Fannie and Robert Gordis, Leon was born in New York City and raised in Far Rockaway, Queens.
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Leon Gordis earned a master's degree in public health in 1966 and a doctorate of public health in 1968 from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.
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Leon Gordis completed his pediatrics training at Hopkins while a member of the US Public Health Service.
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Leon Gordis joined the faculty of the Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1971, teaching epidemiology.
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Leon Gordis then became chair of the Department of Epidemiology in 1975, a position he held until 1993.
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Leon Gordis authored Epidemiology, now in its fifth edition, and considered by many as the seminal textbook on epidemiologic principles and clinical practice applications.
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Leon Gordis established a cardiovascular fellowship program in 1980 with an institutional grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
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Leon Gordis faced controversy from many in the health care industry in the 1990s when he served as chairman of a National Institutes of Health expert panel, suggesting that women in their 40s may not require routine mammograms but instead, should weigh the tests' risks and benefits and decide for themselves.
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Leon Gordis died of a subdural hematoma on September 7,2015, at Mount Sinai Roosevelt Hospital in New York.
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Leon Gordis's son, Daniel Gordis, is an educator in Israel, serving as vice president of Shalem College.