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The M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Oral History Project is a repository for the stories, accounts, and memories of those who have chosen to share their experiences. The viewpoints expressed in the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Oral History Project do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center or any of its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers. M. D. Anderson Cancer Center makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the interviews and expressly disclaim any liability therefore.
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| Collection: | Making Cancer History Voices Oral History Collection |
| Interviewee: | Gehan, Edmund A. |
| Interviewer: | Brunet, Lesley Williams |
| Interviewer: | Olson, James S. |
| Title: | Edmund Gehan oral history |
| Dates: | March 28, 2003 |
| Abstract: | In this oral interview of Dr. Edmund A. Gehan with Lesley Brunet and Dr. James S. Olson, he discusses his educational background. He gives a detailed description about the path he took that lead him to become a biostatistician. |
| Collection Id.: | OH-GehanE-20030328 |
| Original Format: | Audiocassette |
| Format: | 1 streaming video file and 1 interview transcript |
| Interview Length: | 3 hours |
| Language: | Materials are in English |
| Repository: | Historical Resources Center, Research Medical Library, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
Biographical Note
Edmund A. Gehan, Ph.D., was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1929. He attended Manhattan College where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. Gehan was awarded his Doctorate in Applied Statistics from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He taught Applied Statistics from 1955 to 1957. He worked for the National Institute of Health (NIH) in 1958 and was the head of the Biometrics Section of the Cancer Chemotherapy National Service Center in 1959. He was a member of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Gehan’s work in Biostatistics brought him to Houston as a professor at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1967; the institution was a member of the Southwest Oncology Group at that time. Prior to his appointment at M. D. Anderson, he collaborated with Drs. Emil Frei III and Emil J. Freireich cancer research. Gehan has coauthored numerous articles that influenced the development of cancer research with the use of data analysis in clinical trials. Two of which include the 1965 Biometika journal article “A Generalized Wilcoxon test for Comparing Arbitrarily Singly-Censored Samples” and the 1974 New England Medical Journal article “Non-randomized Controls in Cancer Clinical Trials. Since 1994, Gehan is a Professor Emeritus of Biostatistics at Georgetown University Medical Center. |
Interview Abstract
Edmund A. Gehan discusses his educational background, giving a detailed description about the path he took in order to become a biostatistician. He talks about his early career at the National Institute of Health and his fellowship with Birkberck in London where he studied under Sir David R. Cox. He discusses his early collaborations with Drs. Frei and Freireich at the NIH. He also talks about his career at MD Anderson touching upon his experience with the administrative dynamics of the institution. He highlights his career achievements and concludes by talking about his relationship with other physicians, colleagues and administrators. |
Restrictions
| Restrictions on Access: | Portions of the interview have been redacted. Contact archivist for details. |
| Restrictions on Use: | All requests for copying of materials must be submitted to the Historical Resources Center in writing for approval. All reproductions will be handled by HRC staff. Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce must be obtained in writing by the Historical Resources Center. |
Index Terms
| Subjects (Persons): | Gehan, Edmund A. |
| Subjects (Organizations): | University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center -- history |
| Subjects: | Biometry |
Administrative Information
| Provenance: | Interview was conducted between Dr. Edmund Gehan with Lesley W. Brunet and Dr. James S. Olson on March 28, 2003 |
| Preferred Citation: | Edmund Gehan oral history, March 28, 2003, Research Medical Library, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. |
| Processing Information: | Oral history was edited by Mikha Mitchell, October 2010. |
Bibliography
| Monographs: | Gehan, E. A. (1961, April). The determination of the number of patients required in a preliminary and a follow-up trial of a new chemotherapeutic agent. St. Louis: Journal of Chronic Diseases 13(4). 346-353. Gehan, E. A. (1965). A generalized Wilcoxon test for comparing arbitrarily singly-censored samples. Biometrika 52(1 and 2). 203-223. Gehan E. A., and Freireich E. J. (1981, December). Cancer clinical trials: A rational basis for use of historical controls. Seminars in Oncology, 8(4). 430-436 Gehan, E. A., and Freireich E. J. (1974, January 24). Non-randomized controls in cancer clinical trials. New England Journal of Medicine 290(4). 198-203. Gehan, E. A., and Schneiderman, M. A. (1990). Historical and methodological developments in clinical trials at the National Cancer Institute. Statistics in Medicine 9. 871-880. |
