SAVE THE DATE | 50th Lester Breslow Distinguished Lecture
SAVE THE DATE
Join the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health for the 50th Lester Breslow Distinguished Lecture on Tuesday, March 4, from 12 pm – 1 pm PT, via Zoom. The event will be hosted by the dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Dr. Ron Brookmeyer.
ABOUT DR. BRESLOW
Dr. Lester Breslow -- former dean of the UCLA Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, professor emeritus of health services, and a leading figure in public health for seven decades -- was a visionary with a well-established track record for being ahead of his time. As early as the 1940s, he linked tobacco use to disease in three studies that were later cited in the U.S. Surgeon General’s landmark 1964 report.
Breslow is widely known for his early advocacy and research into health promotion and disease prevention. Breslow’s pioneering Alameda County studies beginning in the early 1960s were among the first to show that simple health practices — such as getting regular exercise and sleep, not drinking excessively, not smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight — add both years and quality to life.
While these conclusions are taken for granted today, the idea of such a strong connection between lifestyle and health was seen as "bizarre" at the time, Breslow noted decades later. He would smile when recalling the response of the National Institutes of Health panel of scientists that reviewed the initial study proposal: "Unanimous rejection." When the study was completed, even Breslow was shocked at the magnitude of the results, which helped usher in current thinking about health and fitness.
READ MORE about Dr. Lester Breslow.
READ MORE about the Lester Breslow Distinguished Lecture series.