Herring named distinguished professor for achievements in biostatistical, environmental health

December 10, 2015

Dr. Amy Herring

Amy H. Herring, ScD, faculty member in the biostatistics department at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, has been named the Carol Remmer Angle Distinguished Professor of Children’s Environmental Health, effective Dec. 1.

The professorship was established in 2003 to fund a distinguished teacher and scholar in the field of environmental health. Herring is the second person to hold the title.

“I am thrilled with Amy receiving this well-deserved recognition,” said Michael Kosorok, PhD, W. R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics. “In addition to her being an excellent biostatistical and environmental health researcher, she is a great teacher and exemplifies superb leadership in her role as associate chair of our department. We are truly fortunate to have her here.”

Herring has broad expertise in biostatistics with a research focus on methods for multivariate and longitudinal data, Bayesian methods and methods for handling missing or mismeasured data.

She is Principal Investigator of a National Institutes of Health-funded R01 to develop new statistical methods of direct relevance to reproductive and perinatal epidemiology, as well as of a large National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences-funded T32 to train students in environmental epidemiology, biostatistics and environmental health science.

Herring has collaborated on projects examining the role of behavioral and environmental exposures in healthy pregnancies in UNC’s Pregnancy, Infection and Nutrition study; she also has developed new statistical methods for examining relationships between complex exposures and pregnancy outcome.

Dr. Herring accepts a customized chair honoring her appointment as Carol Remmer Angle Distinguished Professor. (Photo by Brian Strickland)

She conducts research for numerous collaborative projects with Gillings School researchers dealing with birth defects, environmental and occupational exposures, obstetrics and gynecology, child neurodevelopment, adolescent development and maternal health, including the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, the China Health and Nutrition Survey and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.

“I am honored to be awarded this professorship endowed in honor of Dr. Carol Remmer Angle, whose career in pediatrics and toxicology includes important work in lead poisoning and poison control in addition to extensive leadership and service to the profession,” Herring said. “It is such a delight to work on important public health issues with my collaborators in children’s environmental health, and I look forward to the exciting new work that this professorship will make possible.”