Rose Steinberg Stamler, 75, of Chicago, internationally renowned researcher in cardiovascular epidemiology and prevention, died Feb. 28 [1998] at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Memorial Hospital.
Stamler, professor emeritus of preventive medicine at the Medical School, is survived by her husband, Jeremiah; a son, Paul; and a sister, Gertrude. A commemorative tribute will be held at a later date in Chicago.
Stamler, who joined the Medical School in 1972, conducted research on prevention and treatment of elevated blood pressure by non-pharmacologic (lifestyle) means. She was the author of more than 196 articles and books.
Her research in blood pressure epidemiology, plus clinical trials, helped lead to the development of population-wide approaches to primary prevention of high blood pressure. A leader in public policy efforts of the American Heart Assoc-iation of Metropolitan Chicago, she was a participant in the landmark 1993 report on "Primary Prevention of Hypertension" by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Kiang Liu, professor of preventive medicine at the Medical School, said, "Rose Stamler was a pioneer in the area of research on high blood pressure and contributed greatly to the advancement of knowledge on its prevention."
Another aspect of her work was in the training and development of an international group of young professionals introduced to the principles of cardiovascular epidemiology and prevention through annual Ten Day International Teaching Seminars.
About 1,000 young colleagues were trained from 80 countries in the program, in which Stamler participated as coordinator and core faculty member, working from 1970 through 1992 in a different country each year. "Rose Stamler inspired many students, providing opportunities for them to share her wisdom, friendship and humanitarianism. Rose was a caring and loving teacher to all," said Darwin Labarthe, M.D., of the University of Texas at Houston.
Stamler was also a founder of the American Heart Association's Council on Epidemiology and Prevention. An award for Extraordinary Service to the Council was scheduled to be presented to her March 20 at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association's Council on Epidemiology and Prevention. Her current work centered on worldwide epidemiologic INTERMAP study on the macronutrients and blood pressure, being conducted in China, Japan, United Kingdom and United States.
Before joining Northwestern, Stamler worked 10 years at the Cardiovascular Research Ins-titute, Michael Reese Hospital, and then joined the Chicago Health Department in the pioneering Heart Disease Control Program where her interest in prevention and control of chronic diseases led her to organize and conduct a large-scale screening for major chronic disease risk factors among low-income residents of Chicago housing projects. Her landmark research findings provided the evidence and highlighted the need for population-wide prevention and control measures to reduce the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Stamler graduated from the University of Chicago in 1962.
