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After a 10-month battle with pancreatic cancer, Dr. Ronald M. Davis passed away November 6 at his home in East Lansing, MI.
Dr. Davis served as the 162nd president of the American Medical Association from June 2007 to June 2008. As the first preventive medicine specialist ever elected to that position, he focused on improving access to health care, and the importance of prevention and sound public policy. He also helped lead the AMA’s efforts to analyze its past history of racial inequality, which culminated in the organization’s formal apology towards African-American physicians in July 2008.
Dr. Davis’ career as a public health official began as Director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, where he oversaw the publication of three landmark Surgeon General’s reports on the health consequences of smoking and the health benefits of smoking cessation. He later served as medical director for the Michigan Department of Public Health and was most recently the director of the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit.
From 1992-1998, Dr. Davis served as the founding editor of Tobacco Control, the first journal dedicated to tobacco control research. Subsequently, he served as the North American editor of the British Medical Journal. A prolific writer, he was an author or co-author of hundreds of articles in the peer-reviewed literature, and an equal number of editorials and pieces for the lay press.
Dr. Davis was a key expert witness in many trials against the tobacco industry, including lawsuits brought by individual smokers, several state Attorneys General, and the landmark class action lawsuit on behalf of flight attendants harmed by secondhand smoke. He also testified before Congress and other legislative bodies on many occasions.
Dr. Davis was the recipient of numerous grants, including an NCI grant titled "Analysis of Tobacco Depositions and Trial Testimony," which analyzed the sworn testimony of tobacco industry executives, researchers, and consultants. The projects’ findings were published in a special supplement to Tobacco Control.
Dr. Davis also served as the senior scientific editor for NCI Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph 19, The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use, which provides a critical, scientific review and synthesis of the current evidence regarding the power of the media, both to encourage and to discourage tobacco use. Dr. Davis was a featured speaker at the press conference held to release the monograph in August 2008.
He received many awards and honors, including the Surgeon General’s Exemplary Service Medal and the Surgeon General’s Medallion, The American College of Preventive Medicine’s Distinguished Service Award, the American Thoracic Society’s Distinguished Service Award, the John Slade Award from the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, and most recently the American Public Health Association Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Section’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dr. Davis received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and his medical degree and Master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago. He completed epidemiology training and the preventive medicine residency program at the CDC.
Even while facing a serious illness, Dr. Davis remained an advocate. He used his cancer diagnosis to educate the public about patient Web sites, which enable patients to communicate widely about their disease and treatment and build a community of support. "He will be remembered by his colleagues and friends around the world for his seminal contributions to tobacco control and public health as well as his kindness, integrity and dedication to helping others," said Dr. Michele Bloch of NCI’s Tobacco Control Research Branch. He is survived by his wife, three sons, and numerous other family members.
Abridged version featured in the NCI Cancer Bulletin.
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