29
COM Outlook . Winter 2015
the recreational water-quality indica-
tors used by the United States Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency (USE-
PA)—and most, if not all, states—to
assess the quality of recreational
waters of questionable utility,” he
explained. “So I published my thesis
and went on to other things.”
Approximately five years later,
Dr. Fleisher read a research paper
by the USEPA that turned out to be
the inaugural epidemiological study
that analyzed the topic of disease
transmission via contact to recre-
ational waters. “I read the USEPA
study, but the results seemed
too good to be true based on the
analysis I had done for my master’s
thesis,” he stated. “It took me six
months to reanalyze the data upon
which this study was based and to
assess the study design. I found the
USEPA study to be very poor both
in epidemiological design and anal-
ysis of the data. In fact, the study
was so flawed that the validity of
the results was quite questionable.
Moreover, the USEPA criteria for
assessing recreational water quality
were based upon this one study.”
After publishing the results of
his analysis of the USEPA study, Dr.
Fleisher became a celebrity of sorts
in the research world. Consequently,
he teamed up with researchers in the
United Kingdom (UK) and through-
out Europe to collaborate with the
World Health Organization (WHO)
and conduct the first randomized
trial of an environmental pollutant,
which was subsequently replicated
in the UK, Germany, and several
other European countries.
“Our study design was endorsed
by the WHO and the European
Union as the preferred study design,
much to the chagrin of the USEPA,”
he proudly stated. “On a personal
note, this led to an international,
all-expenses-paid junket of speaking
engagements and lectures that turned
out to be a truly fun experience. So
the moral of the story is a stream that
disappeared launched my research
career. I would like to think that Louis
Pasteur’s famous quote “Chance
favors the prepared mind” applied.
But then again, who knows? This also
launched my interest in epidemiologi-
cal methods and statistical methods,
which remains to this day.”
Initially, Dr. Fleisher thought his
career path would involve apply-
ing statistical methods to problems
related to ecology and population
biology. Once he was introduced
to epidemiology while working at
the State University of New York’s
Downstate College of Medicine,
however, a new passion took root.
“While working as an assistant pro-
fessor at Downstate, I was exposed
to the various aspects of preventive
medicine—namely epidemiology
and biostatistics,” he explained.
“It was there where I met another
person who would change the course
of my life—my department chair. He
became a mentor who encouraged
me to get my master’s degree in Epi-
demiology at the Columbia School
of Public Health, and my Ph.D. in
Epidemiology and Biostatistics from
New York University.”
...With mom and brother
...Wedded bliss with wife Robin
...On the cusp of adulthood
“As I get older, I want to maintain my activities in research, but I am increasingly
interested in teaching the generation that will replace me. My aim is to explore
evidenced-based teaching and try to make learning a fun and lifelong process.”
...Broad smile for the camera
