Today Dr. Geoffrey Fong receives the Doll-Wynder Award, the highest honour for groundbreaking advances in public health, public policy or epidemiological research presented by the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.
Fong is indeed a groundbreaking and world-leading public health researcher. A professor in Psychology with cross-appointment in the School of Public Health Sciences, he founded the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation (ITC) Project at Waterloo in 2002, which has conducted studies in 31 countries to evaluate policies of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the global tobacco control treaty.
Presented once every three years, the Doll–Wynder Award is named after pioneering epidemiologists Sir Richard Doll and Sir Ernst Wynder, whose work established the causal link between smoking and disease. Fong knew Doll — “I was very fortunate to have some interactions with him over the years before he passed away in 2005.”
The Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, a global, multidisciplinary association, stated that Fong’s work has “directly informed national and international policy and strengthened the scientific foundation for preventing tobacco-related disease worldwide.”
Fong has received more than 20 awards and honours, including the Governor General’s Innovation Award, won jointly with ITC founding colleagues Dr. Mary Thompson (Distinguished Professor Emerita, Statistics and Actuarial Science) and Dr. David Hammond (School of Public Health Sciences), appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada, induction to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, and the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
“I want to thank Waterloo colleagues for their support of the ITC Project throughout the years,” said Fong recently. “We are working on very exciting new projects this spring and also finishing up work with WHO, and hoping to start new work with US FDA.”
Congratulations to Dr. Fong for his outstanding contributions that continue to advance understanding of the prevention and control of tobacco use!
Geoffrey Fong and Sir Richard Doll in 2004