Sholom Wacholder, Ph.D. died October 4, 2015, at his home in Rockville, Maryland.

"Dr. Wacholder made tremendous contributions to the fields of cancer epidemiology and biostatistics as well as to his community of colleagues at NCI and to those whom he mentored," said Stephen Chanock, M.D., Division Director. "He will be greatly missed by all of us. He was a special colleague and friend to so many."

Dr. Wacholder leaves behind a legacy of research excellence in genetic epidemiology that is both diverse and remarkably deep. A statistician by training, he was sought out by colleagues across the Division to advise on critical methodological and analytic components of nearly all major undertakings of the Division over the past 30 years, exploring the causes of cancer from natural history studies through clinical trials. He had a keen sense of the underlying biological questions and succeeded in helping the rest of us to become smarter and better informed. His breadth ranged from studies of risk factors to the application of new technologies to investigate the heritable component of different cancers.

Dr. Wacholder received a Ph.D. in biomathematics from the University of Washington in 1982. He was a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and an elected member of the American Epidemiological Society. He served on the editorial boards of numerous journals, including Epidemiology, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and the American Journal of Epidemiology.

He is survived by his wife, Michelle, their two adult sons, Aaron and Jonah, his sisters and brother, and many nieces and nephews.

More information about Dr, Wacholder: From Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention