Richard Horton
Encyclopedia
Richard Horton, FRCP
FMedSci, (born 29 December 1961) is the present editor-in-chief of The Lancet
, a United Kingdom
-based medical journal
.
from 1969 to 1980 and at the University of Birmingham
from 1980 to 1986, receiving his BSc (in physiology) in 1983, and qualifying in medicine in 1986. He completed his general medical training in Birmingham before moving to the liver unit at the Royal Free Hospital.
In 1990, he joined The Lancet
as an assistant editor and moved to New York as North American editor in 1993. Two years later he returned to the UK to become Editor-in-Chief. He was the first President of the World Association of Medical Editors, and is presently a member of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. He has also been president of the US Council of Science Editors (2005–06). He is an honorary professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University College London
. A book about controversies in modern medicine, Second Opinion, was published in 2003 (Health Wars in the US). He also wrote the Royal College of Physicians
report on medical professionalism, "Doctors in Society" (2005). He is married with one daughter, and lives in London.
Regarding peer review, Horton has said:
Horton is also said to have been involved in controversies over the role of the pharmaceutical industry in medicine, the MMR vaccine, the ethics of medical publishing, and global health.
The British Medical Journal of 22 January 2011 ran an editorial by Fiona Godlee
referencing these concerns. In the case of the MMR vaccine, despite being a vocal proponent of academic publication ethics, he was accused of violating some of his own standards and allowing authors of the MMR paper to vouch for their own innocence without having any non-authors from the same institution examine the medical records for ethics violations or fraud. Dr. Horton might have misrepresented the scope of the Lancet investigation in early responses to the article.
and British prime minister Tony Blair
of "lies" and "killing children" in Iraq
. On 11 October, The Lancet published new estimates of the death toll of Iraqi citizens after the US-led invasion in 2003
, putting it at a total of 655,000. Some supporters of the invasion of Iraq dismissed it for what they claimed was flawed methodology. Some opponents of the invasion questioned its reliability due to its extreme divergence from other data on the conflict. Some journals and statistical experts were supportive. Other experts in the field were not convinced, saying the estimates were "high, and probably way too high", and that the authors had published a "misinterpretation of their own figures".
Others were incredulous that the survey could have been performed as reported under such dangerous conditions.
Iraq's health minister estimated during a press conference in November 2006 that between 100,000 and 150,000 people had died since the invasion in 2003, based on an estimate of around 100 deaths per day brought to morgues and hospitals during 2006, while saying that the Lancet estimates were an "exaggerated number".
U.S. President George W. Bush was asked at a 2005 press conference to estimate the number of "civilians, military, police, insurgents (and) translators" that had been killed in Iraq and gave a number of 30,000 deaths, but the White House declined to provide a source for that estimate.
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
FMedSci, (born 29 December 1961) is the present editor-in-chief of The Lancet
The Lancet
The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
, a United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based medical journal
Medical journal
A public health journal is a scientific journal devoted to the field of public health, including epidemiology, biostatistics, and health care . Public health journals, like most scientific journals, are peer-reviewed...
.
Education and career
Horton studied at Bristol Grammar SchoolBristol Grammar School
Bristol Grammar School is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England. The school was founded in 1532 by two brothers, Robert and Nicholas Thorne....
from 1969 to 1980 and at the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
from 1980 to 1986, receiving his BSc (in physiology) in 1983, and qualifying in medicine in 1986. He completed his general medical training in Birmingham before moving to the liver unit at the Royal Free Hospital.
In 1990, he joined The Lancet
The Lancet
The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
as an assistant editor and moved to New York as North American editor in 1993. Two years later he returned to the UK to become Editor-in-Chief. He was the first President of the World Association of Medical Editors, and is presently a member of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. He has also been president of the US Council of Science Editors (2005–06). He is an honorary professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
. A book about controversies in modern medicine, Second Opinion, was published in 2003 (Health Wars in the US). He also wrote the Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
report on medical professionalism, "Doctors in Society" (2005). He is married with one daughter, and lives in London.
Regarding peer review, Horton has said:
The mistake, of course, is to have thought that peer review was any more than a crude means of discovering the acceptability — not the validity — of a new finding. Editors and scientists alike insist on the pivotal importance of peer review. We portray peer review to the public as a quasi-sacred process that helps to make science our most objective truth teller. But we know that the system of peer review is biased, unjust, unaccountable, incomplete, easily fixed, often insulting, usually ignorant, occasionally foolish, and frequently wrong.
Horton is also said to have been involved in controversies over the role of the pharmaceutical industry in medicine, the MMR vaccine, the ethics of medical publishing, and global health.
The British Medical Journal of 22 January 2011 ran an editorial by Fiona Godlee
Fiona Godlee
Fiona Godlee has been editor in chief of the BMJ since 2005; she is the first female editor appointed in the journal's history.-Career:...
referencing these concerns. In the case of the MMR vaccine, despite being a vocal proponent of academic publication ethics, he was accused of violating some of his own standards and allowing authors of the MMR paper to vouch for their own innocence without having any non-authors from the same institution examine the medical records for ethics violations or fraud. Dr. Horton might have misrepresented the scope of the Lancet investigation in early responses to the article.
Controversy over death toll of invasion of Iraq
At the Time to Go Demo of 23 September 2006, Horton accused American president George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and British prime minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
of "lies" and "killing children" in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. On 11 October, The Lancet published new estimates of the death toll of Iraqi citizens after the US-led invasion in 2003
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, putting it at a total of 655,000. Some supporters of the invasion of Iraq dismissed it for what they claimed was flawed methodology. Some opponents of the invasion questioned its reliability due to its extreme divergence from other data on the conflict. Some journals and statistical experts were supportive. Other experts in the field were not convinced, saying the estimates were "high, and probably way too high", and that the authors had published a "misinterpretation of their own figures".
Others were incredulous that the survey could have been performed as reported under such dangerous conditions.
Iraq's health minister estimated during a press conference in November 2006 that between 100,000 and 150,000 people had died since the invasion in 2003, based on an estimate of around 100 deaths per day brought to morgues and hospitals during 2006, while saying that the Lancet estimates were an "exaggerated number".
U.S. President George W. Bush was asked at a 2005 press conference to estimate the number of "civilians, military, police, insurgents (and) translators" that had been killed in Iraq and gave a number of 30,000 deaths, but the White House declined to provide a source for that estimate.
External links
- Richard Horton speech at Time to Go anti-war demonstration in Manchester on 23 September 2006 at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- briandeer.com - Dr Richard Horton in Lancet scandal (MMR)