Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health Appoints Chair of Biostatistics

PITTSBURGH, June 4 – Sally C. Morton, Ph.D., has been appointed by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) to head the school’s Department of Biostatistics. Dr. Morton’s areas of expertise include comparative effectiveness and meta-analysis, which contribute to evidence-based decisions in health care. 

Most recently, Dr. Morton was vice president of statistics and epidemiology at RTI International where she led a department of 270 biostatisticians, statisticians and epidemiologists. She also served as an adjunct professor of biostatistics at the University of North Carolina. Prior to her position at RTI, she led the statistics group at the RAND Corporation and held the RAND endowed chair in statistics.

“Dr. Morton is an outstanding biostatistician. As the immediate past-president of the American Statistical Association, she brings a deep understanding of the future of biostatistics. Her perfect blend of academic credentials and industry experience will help guarantee GSPH’s position as a leader in health care decision-making,” said Donald S. Burke, M.D., GSPH dean. “Dr. Morton’s special skills at analyzing, interpreting and explaining public health and policy data are extremely valuable during the current era of health care reform.”

Dr. Morton has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, books and book chapters on topics ranging from statistical and analytic methods to health care policy, evidence-based medicine and research on special populations. At GSPH, she will develop programs to address complex health care questions at both societal and individual levels. She also will employ evidence-based analyses to better inform public health decision-making and will mentor students entering the field. 

Dr. Morton received both a master’s degree in operations research and a doctoral degree in statistics from Stanford University, as well as a master’s degree in statistics from the London School of Economics.  

For a high-resolution photo of Dr. Morton, click here. 

#  #  #

http://www.upmc.com/mediarelations

CONTACT:    Clare Collins, CollCX@upmc.edu
PHONE:         (412) 648-9725
 
CONTACT:    Anita Srikameswaran, SrikamAV@upmc.edu
PHONE:         (412) 578-9193

Tags: