A glance at the scope of Howe's work reveals a list of priority topics of the day: the risk of cancer mortality in populations living near nuclear facilities; studies of dietary fat, artificial sweeteners, coffee, alcohol, caloric intake and breast cancer; the most definitive studies of fiber in colon cancer.

Howe's contributions are key to understanding the risks of radiation. "In terms of radiation and breast cancer, which is very germane to the whole interest in mammography, we have been conducting for 20 years the most informative ongoing study of 65,000 patients who have received radiation," said Howe concerning some of the work that he will transfer to CSPH.

Further, every home seller since the mid-1980's is familiar with radon exposure, a public health concern piqued by Howe's leading investigations of cancer in uranium miners. The subsequent analysis of costs versus risks became a prime example of public health policy making in the 1980's.

As Howe tells it, 'Epidemiology is a very basic science'it underpins all studies done of human populations of the last 40 years'chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer. During that time we haven't made much use of the biological sciences. Perhaps there has been too much reliance on surveys. More is possible with genetic studies.' Howe's skills of selection and scrutiny of critical information, which he suggests are perhaps more efficient since his loss of sight 15 years ago, are geared to integrate what he does in epidemiology with the more basic sciences. Howe cautiously touches on critical emerging ethical issues, 'Not everyone who smokes gets cancer'can we determine the genetics? Can we integrate epidemiology and genetics?'

Howe has been a member of, and an invited participant in, several of the National Academy of Sciences' prestigious committees on the biological effects of ionizing radiation. He has also served on many other committees on radiation and health, including those of the World Health Organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements and the National Cancer Institute.

Prior to coming to CSPH, the British-born Howe was director of the Canadian National Cancer Institute's epidemiology unit at the University of Toronto. Concurrent with this position, he was a professor in the department of preventive medicine and biostatistics at the University of Toronto. Howe holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Leicester, England.