Kiros Berhane, PhD

  • Chair of Biostatistics
  • Cynthia and Robert Citron-Roslyn and Leslie Goldstein Professor of Biostatistics
Profile Headshot

Overview

Dr. Kiros Berhane is the Cynthia and Robert Citron-Roslyn and Leslie Goldstein Professor and Chairman of the Department of Biostatistics at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. He received his BSc in Statistics and Mathematics from Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), MS in Statistics from University of Guelph (Canada), and PhD in Biostatistics from University of Toronto (Canada). He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University (USA). He is a widely published international expert on development of statistical methods with focus on complex and correlated data structures, as well as their application into a wide range of public health topics – with special focus on health impacts of environmental factors and climate change. Prior to joining Columbia in January 2020, Dr. Berhane was Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Southern California. He has served on several national and international advisory and review panels, including committees of the Institute of Medicine (US National Academies), the US-EPA Science Advisory Board, Health Effects Institute Review Committee, Health Effects Institute Global Oversight Committee, science advisory panel of the Western Interprovincial Scientific Studies Association (WISSA - Calgary, Canada) and the Biostatistical Methods and Research Design [BMRD] Study Section of the National Institutes of Health. He served as a member of (and chaired for one of the years) the Fisher lecture and Award selection committee of the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS). He is currently serving as a member of the committee of the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) on Assessing Causality from a Multidisciplinary Evidence Base for National Ambient Air Quality Standards and also as a member of the core panel for Lancet Commission on the Future of Health and Economic Resilience of Africa (FHERA). In addition to serving on the editorial boards of several scientific journals, he is also currently serving as a member of Science magazine's Board of Reviewing Editors He was a Fulbright Scholar in 2016-2017. He is an elected fellow of the American Statistical Association.

Academic Appointments

  • Chair of Biostatistics
  • Cynthia and Robert Citron-Roslyn and Leslie Goldstein Professor of Biostatistics

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • BSc, 1986 Addis Ababa University
  • MS, 1991 University of Guelph
  • PhD, 1994 University of Toronto
  • Other, 1995 Johns Hopkins University

Research

Research Interests

  • Biostatistical Methods
  • Child and Adolescent Health
  • Chronic disease
  • Environmental Health
  • Food Policy and Obesity
  • Global Health
  • Urban Health