Scientific articles by Dr. Tom Frieden on some major themes within health, health care, and public health.
Dr. Tom Frieden's scientific publications cover infectious and non-infectious diseases, health and public health policy, and broad concepts of effective action to save lives.
Dr. Tom Frieden has written more than 250 influential scientific articles to sound the alarm about emerging health threats, investigate health risks, document control of disease, and provide conceptual leadership on a broad range of health, health care, and public health topics.
Dr. Frieden’s early work included a focus on antibiotic resistance, including from of antibiotics, including a on the emergence of drug-resistant tuberculosis. This study led directly to a massive increase in city, state, and federal resources for and commitment to the control of tuberculosis. Dr. Frieden also conducted one of the first of tuberculosis, documenting the importance of spread in hospitals and of laboratory contamination.
coined the term, “Interventional Epidemiology,” and emphasizes the importance of using data to drive progress. In New York City, he led efforts that rapidly stopped the largest outbreak of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis ever to occur in the United States, and with a program that became a national and international model. Dr. Frieden emphasizes the importance of public health , of , and of recognizing and addressing the .
In addition to documenting the spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, Dr. Frieden led an .* Learning from , Dr. Frieden also emphasized the importance of of every patient.
then moved to India, where he supported national and state programs to detection, treatment, and monitoring of tuberculosis. One important component of this progress was * to support progress. Working with the Tuberculosis Research Center - now the National Institute for Research on Tuberculosis of the Indian Council of Medical Research, the team in India implemented a Model DOTS Programme and documented . The team also showed that it was possible to increase case detection through a system of active monitoring of private laboratories, in a .
One of Dr. Frieden’s mentors, Dr. Colin McCord, that a Black man in Harlem was less likely to survive to age 65 than a man in Bangladesh. Dr. McCord suggested that Dr. Frieden investigate one of the leading causes of excess mortality in Central Harlem: liver disease. Dr. Frieden undertook a that identified the cause: synergistic liver damage from the combination of alcohol use and viral hepatitis (hepatitis B and C).
As CDC Director, Dr. Frieden and established a system to track and advocate for the reversal of health disparities. For the first time, the CDC published regular, on the state of health disparities, with a focus on areas where progress could be made through advocacy, program implementation, and empowering communities.
Dr. Frieden’s concept of a has been influential for health departments, community organizations, and others around the country and world. Following the footsteps of two of his mentors, Dr. George Comstock and Sir John Crofton, he not only infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, but also the leading causes of ill health such as tobacco use, cardiovascular disease and . He outlined a way forward to improve the .
Dr. Frieden’s work includes analysis of the . Dr. Frieden outlined , , and of public health action. He established the initiative and the “” initiative at CDC, and and challenges of two terms as NYC Health Commissioner under Mayor Bloomberg and in the administration of President Barack Obama. With longtime colleague Dr. Kelly Henning, he outlined the . He also outlined how the world could .
Tobacco use will kill one billion people in this century unless urgent action is taken. Tuberculosis was once described as, “Captain of all these men of death”. Tobacco — and the tobacco companies that market it — now has that dubious distinction. As New York City Health Commissioner, he implemented a comprehensive program that . He outlined the . Along with Mayor Bloomberg, how to prevent 100 million deaths from tobacco.
Mayor Bloomberg funded a program along the lines Dr. Frieden outlined, which had by 2021 prevented approximately 40 million deaths. He in tobacco control, including implementing proven strategies and innovating to “reduce exposure of children to smoking imagery in movies, television, and social media; reduce youth access to tobacco (e.g., through changes in minimum age of purchase); decrease the addictiveness of cigarettes; and address the production, distribution, and marketing of tobacco.”
Joining in an important analysis led by Dr. Tom Farley, the authors showed that than any other clinical intervention among adults. Frieden conceptualized the — ultimately unsuccessful - “” initiative to prevent heart attacks and strokes, including through use of . Along with Mayor Bloomberg, he outlined how to globally through , .
Unhealthy food is another leading cause of preventable death. In 2009, Dr. Frieden and colleagues, as part of a comprehensive approach to reducing obesity, , the single leading driver of increased calorie consumption in the United States, of at least 1 cent per ounce. Excess sodium consumption is a leading health risk, contributing to an estimated 3 million deaths per year, and Dr. Frieden has advocated for public health action to reduce intake.
His initiative, Resolve to Save Lives, summarized and Dr. Frieden has about sodium reduction, and shown that reducing sodium consumption can by . In New York City, he led the successful that required chain restaurants to post calorie counts, thereby , and . Learning from Denmark, the trans fat ban became a global priority, and he and Dr. Tedros, the Director General of WHO, published an article on the REPLACE strategy, .
Dr. Frieden has been fully engaged in advancing an effective global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including reviewing how to . This work builds on work from New York City advocating to , of the World Trade Center attacks, and work at CDC helping to stop . A core function of Dr. Frieden’s group, Resolve to Save Lives, is helping countries and the world become .
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Ron Haddock International Impact Award from the American Stroke Association, 2018
MedShare Humanitarian Award, 2017
Campaign for Tobacco Free-Kids Champion Award, 2016
Courageous Leadership Award, National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, 2016
Science. New York University, 2017
Science. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 2017
Science, Oglethorpe University, 2015
Science, Oberlin College, 2012
Modern Healthcare and Modern Physician, 50 Most Influential Physician Executives in Healthcare
Arthur P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award, 2015
Time 100 Most Influential People, 2014
Harvard School of Public Health Julius B. Richmond Award, 2014
American Society for Clinical Pathology Patient’s Advocate Award, 2013
Morehouse College, Innovative Creative Entrepreneurial Award, 2013
Elected as member of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009
Prize for Public Service Innovation, Citizens Budget Commission, 2009
Milton and Ruth Roemer Prize for Creative Local Public Health Work, APHA, 2008
American Diabetes Association's Distinguished Service Achievement Award, 2008
The New York Observer’s 100 Most Powerful People in New York, 2008
New York 1’s New Yorker of the Year 2006
Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year 2005 Award
Distinguished Service Award, Douglas (Tennessee) Community Health Council, 1982
Distinguished Service Award, New York Psychiatric Hospital, 1978
Public Service, Tufts University, 2011
