Eric Boerwinkle, PhD

Dean, UTHealth Houston School of Public Health

Eric Boerwinkle, PhD, is the dean of UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. A faculty member of the School of Public Health since 1986, Boerwinkle’s formal training is in both human genetics and statistics, with an emphasis on large team-science programs. Under his leadership, School of Public Health faculty and trainees have made groundbreaking discoveries on the epidemiology and genetics of common chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and dementia, and rare single gene disorders. These efforts have led to more than 1,000 peer reviewed scientific publications, some in top-tier journals, such as Science, Nature, and the New England Journal of Medicine. Some of these discoveries have translated into new drugs and practices that change health care and save lives.

A frequent visitor to both the state capitol in Austin, Texas, and the scientific leadership in Washington, DC, Boerwinkle advises a number of state and federal agencies related to science and health care. He will lead the Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute, a $40 million initiative newly created by the State of Texas to train a statewide public health workforce, coordinate testing capacity and improve data analytics to help Texas better prepare for future pandemics and address public health needs.

He holds the M. David Low Chair in Public Health and the Kozmetsky Family Chair in Human Genetics, and is a recipient of The University of Texas System Board of Regents’ Outstanding Teacher Award.

Boerwinkle received his two master’s degrees in statistics and human genetics from the University of Michigan, where he also received his PhD in human genetics. He is also a faculty member of McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston and MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

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UTHealth School of Public Health