News from the WHI Study

Remembering WHI Investigator Dr. Barbara Howard.

Many of us came to know Barbara as the PI of the Medstar WHI Clinical Center and the long-time chair (2002-2017) of the WHI Publications and Presentations Committee. In addition to recruiting over 3000 participants in the Washington DC area, she was instrumental in developing and implementing the publication policies that have served our community for three decades and have become a model for other national programs. Her calm and seasoned judgement guided many important discussions to help produce and protect the rigorous science that WHI is known for. She was a passionate voice for under-represented and under-served communities well before that topic became a national focus. As a scientific leader, she authored 12 WHI publications, primarily focused on diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and nutrition. In particular, she led two 2006 JAMA articles on the impact of dietary intervention on coronary heart disease and weight change.

Barbara also had an illustrious career outside of the WHI. She served as the  President of Medstar Research Institute, chair of the Steering Committee for the Strong Heart Study, and was PI of a multicenter intervention study to determine the effects of aggressive LDL and blood pressure targets on CVD in individuals with diabetes, among other activities.

Although Barbara and her husband, Jim, retired several years ago, she continued to participate in selected WHI scientific groups and kept in touch with many friends in the WHI and will be sorely missed.