Philippe Autier
Encyclopedia
Philippe Autier is an Belgian
epidemiologist
. He is doing research on cancer
, where he contributed to the understanding of the role of UV
exposure in cancer
development.
, Belgium
, and studied medicine
at the Université Libre de Bruxelles
and received a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1982, and a diploma in tropical medicine
from the Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine
, Antwerp in 1983.
He started his professional life by joining the humanitarian non-governmental organization Médecins Sans Frontières
, where he helped in Honduras
(1985 and 1986), and later in Chad
(1987–88) as the medical coordinator of projects conducted by a team of about 50 expatriates and 200 Chadian health workers. During that time Philippe Autier launched and coordinated the first Early Warning Systems for famine prevention in Mali
and Chad
, projects funded by the European Commission
. He also conducted various expert missions as an epidemiologist in Angola
, Mozambique
, Hong Kong
, Zaïre
, and the Sudan
. Additionally he was a founding member and epidemiologist at the European Agency for Health and Development (AEDES, Brussels-Paris-Barcelona), specialized in the management of pharmaceuticals and health services at country level and in the handling of epidemics or large scale nutritional problems.
In 1988 he received a Fulbright fellowship with a grant from the Frank Boas Foundation to study at Harvard School of Public Health
, Cambridge
, Massachusetts
, where he was awarded a M.P.H..
Going back to Europe in 1989, Philippe Autier joined Institut Jules Bordet
, an oncology
centre in Brussels, as head of the Epidemiology and Prevention Unit, and the Oeuvre Belge du Cancer, an agency active in cancer prevention. Eventually he became coordinator of the Brussels Breast Cancer Screening Programme implemented by the three universities operating in the Brussels area.
From 1994 to 1996 he was working for Merck Sharp and Dohme, (MSD), as a health outcome manager for studies on health economics and evidence based medicine. He moved to Milan
and worked as the Deputy Director of the Epidemiology Department of the European Institute of Oncology
, where his work on UV and sunbeds started. At this time he also joined the Working Group which developed and updated the European Code against Cancer.
In 2000 Autier was invited to work for the European Commission, DG Sanco, and at the Luxembourg Institute for Health, located at the Centre de Recherche Publique Santé (CRP-Santé), where he was head of the centre for epidemiology and statistics until 2003. He returned to the Institut Jules Bordet for two more years and finally moved to Lyon
, France
, to join the International Agency for Research on Cancer
, IARC, as Head of the Unit of Prevention Evaluation(former Epidemiology Methods and Support Group) and Cluster Coordinator of the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Cluster until 2009.
During 2009 Philippe Autier moved to the International Prevention Research Institute, to take over the post of a Research Director.
and the evaluation of cancer prevention technologies. For the first field he is known for his work on causes and prevention of skin cancer
s, mainly the cutaneous melanoma
where he has the goal to evaluate exposure to solar and artificial ultraviolet radiation (see also his work on cancer risks with sunbeds). Within the second field he was involved in the development and coordination of clinical studies aiming at testing the medical value of a new ultrasound-based technique for the early detection of ovarian, prostate and breast cancers (HistoScanning).
Currently he is a Member of the editorial board of Melanoma Research, and the European Journal of Cancer
. He is a Member and Co-Chairman of EPIMEL, the Epidemiology and Prevention section of the EORTC
Melanoma Co-operative Group. Autier is Past President and Member of the Board of EPISEARCH, a non-profit organization under Belgian law dedicated to the promotion of emerging innovative methods (in economics, biostatistics and data handling) for clinical and population studies and President of the Board of AEDES Foundation.
Philippe Autier has published more than 140 scientific articles.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
epidemiologist
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
. He is doing research on cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, where he contributed to the understanding of the role of UV
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
exposure in cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
development.
Biography
Autier was born in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and studied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the Université Libre de Bruxelles
Université Libre de Bruxelles
The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...
and received a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1982, and a diploma in tropical medicine
Tropical medicine
Tropical medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with health problems that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or prove more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions....
from the Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine
Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine
The Institute of Tropical Medicine , previously known as Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine is located in Antwerp, Belgium. The ITM is one of the world's leading institutes for training and research in tropical medicine and the organisation of health care in developing countries...
, Antwerp in 1983.
He started his professional life by joining the humanitarian non-governmental organization Médecins Sans Frontières
Médecins Sans Frontières
' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...
, where he helped in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
(1985 and 1986), and later in Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
(1987–88) as the medical coordinator of projects conducted by a team of about 50 expatriates and 200 Chadian health workers. During that time Philippe Autier launched and coordinated the first Early Warning Systems for famine prevention in Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
and Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, projects funded by the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
. He also conducted various expert missions as an epidemiologist in Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Zaïre
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
, and the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
. Additionally he was a founding member and epidemiologist at the European Agency for Health and Development (AEDES, Brussels-Paris-Barcelona), specialized in the management of pharmaceuticals and health services at country level and in the handling of epidemics or large scale nutritional problems.
In 1988 he received a Fulbright fellowship with a grant from the Frank Boas Foundation to study at Harvard School of Public Health
Harvard School of Public Health
The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, where he was awarded a M.P.H..
Going back to Europe in 1989, Philippe Autier joined Institut Jules Bordet
Institut Jules Bordet
Institut Jules Bordet is a general hospital and research institute of the Université Libre de Bruxelles which specializes in oncology. It is located in Brussels, Belgium...
, an oncology
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
centre in Brussels, as head of the Epidemiology and Prevention Unit, and the Oeuvre Belge du Cancer, an agency active in cancer prevention. Eventually he became coordinator of the Brussels Breast Cancer Screening Programme implemented by the three universities operating in the Brussels area.
From 1994 to 1996 he was working for Merck Sharp and Dohme, (MSD), as a health outcome manager for studies on health economics and evidence based medicine. He moved to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and worked as the Deputy Director of the Epidemiology Department of the European Institute of Oncology
European Institute of Oncology
The European Institute of Oncology is a non-profit comprehensive cancer centre located in Milan, Italy that is active in three areas:*Clinic*Research*Training...
, where his work on UV and sunbeds started. At this time he also joined the Working Group which developed and updated the European Code against Cancer.
In 2000 Autier was invited to work for the European Commission, DG Sanco, and at the Luxembourg Institute for Health, located at the Centre de Recherche Publique Santé (CRP-Santé), where he was head of the centre for epidemiology and statistics until 2003. He returned to the Institut Jules Bordet for two more years and finally moved to Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, to join the International Agency for Research on Cancer
International Agency for Research on Cancer
The International Agency for Research on Cancer is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organisation of the United Nations....
, IARC, as Head of the Unit of Prevention Evaluation(former Epidemiology Methods and Support Group) and Cluster Coordinator of the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Cluster until 2009.
During 2009 Philippe Autier moved to the International Prevention Research Institute, to take over the post of a Research Director.
Scientific merits
Autier's main field of research is the study of environmental factors for cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and the evaluation of cancer prevention technologies. For the first field he is known for his work on causes and prevention of skin cancer
Skin cancer
Skin neoplasms are skin growths with differing causes and varying degrees of malignancy. The three most common malignant skin cancers are basal cell cancer, squamous cell cancer, and melanoma, each of which is named after the type of skin cell from which it arises...
s, mainly the cutaneous melanoma
Melanoma
Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel and the eye...
where he has the goal to evaluate exposure to solar and artificial ultraviolet radiation (see also his work on cancer risks with sunbeds). Within the second field he was involved in the development and coordination of clinical studies aiming at testing the medical value of a new ultrasound-based technique for the early detection of ovarian, prostate and breast cancers (HistoScanning).
Currently he is a Member of the editorial board of Melanoma Research, and the European Journal of Cancer
European Journal of Cancer
The European Journal of Cancer is a peer-reviewed medical journal devoted to cancer research on experimental oncology, clinical oncology , and on cancer epidemiology and prevention. The editor-in-chief is Alexander M. M. Eggermont ....
. He is a Member and Co-Chairman of EPIMEL, the Epidemiology and Prevention section of the EORTC
EORTC
The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer or EORTC is an international non-profit organisation that develops, coordinates and stimulates cancer laboratory and clinical research in Europe...
Melanoma Co-operative Group. Autier is Past President and Member of the Board of EPISEARCH, a non-profit organization under Belgian law dedicated to the promotion of emerging innovative methods (in economics, biostatistics and data handling) for clinical and population studies and President of the Board of AEDES Foundation.
Philippe Autier has published more than 140 scientific articles.