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Michael B. Bracken, PhD, MPH, FACE

Susan Dwight Bliss Professor Emeritus
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Susan Dwight Bliss Professor Emeritus

Biography

Dr. Michael Bracken is the Susan Dwight Bliss Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology, Senior Research Scientist in Epidemiology, and formerly Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproductive Science and Neurology, a former Head of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at Yale University and former Vice Chairman (Deputy Dean) of the Yale School of Public Health where he has studied and taught for the last 52 years. He is a sometime Research Fellow in Green Templeton College, Oxford University. Professor Bracken has published some 400 articles in the scientific literature and has authored three books: Perinatal Epidemiology (1984) and Effective Care of the Newborn Infant (with J.C. Sinclair, 1992) both published by Oxford University Press. In 2006 this last book, which introduced the concepts of meta-analysis into neonatology, was named by the British Medical Journal as one of the most influential books in evidence-based medicine and was instrumental in assisting the foundation of the international Cochrane Collaboration. His new book: Risk, Chance and Causation: Investigating the Origins and Treatment of Disease was published by Yale University Press in 2013. He is the founding (in 1979) Director of the Yale Perinatal Epidemiology Unit and Director Emeritus of its successor, the Yale Center for Perinatal, Pediatric and Environmental Epidemiology. Professor Bracken has taught courses in evidence-based medicine and health care, pharmaco-epidemiology, perinatal epidemiology and general epidemiology at Yale for many years. He has directed numerous epidemiological investigations, almost all of which were funded (over $50 million in total) by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH). He has served on numerous study sections and committees of the NIH including the Council of the National Institute of Deafness and Communicative Disorders. He chaired the first Congress of Epidemiology in 2001 and the first international colloquium on genome–wide association studies in 2006. He consults for many international corporations and agencies including the World Health Organization and he has served as the elected President of two major epidemiological organizations: the American College of Epidemiology and the Society for Epidemiologic Research. Professor Bracken is the 2013 recipient of the Lilienfeld Award from the American College of Epidemiology, a 2015 D.Sc honoris causa from the University of Gloucester in the UK, and the 2016 Gordon Lecture award from the National Institutes of Health.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

PhD
Yale University (1974)
MPhil
Yale University (1972)
MPH
Yale University (1970)
BSc (Hon)
London University, Zoology (1968)

Research

Overview

The first randomized trials for evaluating therapies for acute spinal cord injury were designed and directed by Professor Bracken. He is a consultant for international corporations and government agencies and his government service includes NIH study sections and Council. He previously sat on the NIH Expert Panel on Genes Environment and Health.

  • Identification of genetic polymorphisms that increase disease susceptibility and their interaction with lifestyle risk factors.
  • Co-Founder and Co-Editor, Cochrane Neonatal Review Group, Cochrane Collaboration.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Epidemiology; Evidence-Based Medicine; Gynecology; Neurology; Pediatrics; Perinatal Care

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Michael B. Bracken's published research.

Publications

2022

2020

2019

2018

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • honor

    Gordon Lecture Award

  • honor

    Honorary Doctorate of Science

  • honor

    Lilienfeld Award

  • activity

    Asthma Causing Genes

  • activity

    Caffeine Exposure during Pregnancy - Effects on Fetal Growth

Get In Touch

Contacts

Academic Office Number
Office Fax Number
Mailing Address

Chronic Disease Epidemiology

PO Box 208034, 60 College Street

New Haven, CT 06520-8034

United States

Administrative Support

Locations

  • Yale Center for Perinatal Pediatric and Environmental Epidemiology (CPPEE)

    Academic Office

    1 Church Street, Ste 6th Floor

    New Haven, CT 06510

    Appointments

    203.764.9375