Kenneth Rothman
Profiles

Kenneth J Rothman, DrPH

Professor, Epidemiology - Boston University School of Public Health

(617) 358-3612
krothman@bu.edu
Talbot
View Full Profile at BUMC

Biography

Dr. Rothman has 55 years of professional experience in Epidemiologic research. As a graduate student, he became interested in defining and measuring interaction between different causes of a common effect, sparked by a paper examining the effect of alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking on the development of oral cancer. This interest evolved into an approach to measure the interaction between the two causes, applying a simple model describing the general structure of causal mechanisms. His substantive research has included work on the epidemiology of cancer, cardiovascular disease, birth defects, environmental epidemiology, pharmaceutical products, and methodological, conceptual and ethical issues in epidemiology. Specific projects have included research on the teratogenicity of vitamin A, the health effects of cellular telephone use, and factors affecting fecundability. Dr. Rothman is the author of two widely used textbooks of epidemiologic methods, Modern Epidemiology and Epidemiology: an Introduction, and is the founding editor of Epidemiology, a leading public-health journal. He has taught invited courses in the concepts and methods of epidemiology on over 100 occasions in two dozen countries. In 1978, he wrote a sounding board article in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting that reliance on statistical significance testing to interpret study results was misleading; instead he encouraged a focus on the estimation of effect magnitude, a quantitative rather than qualitative assessment. Through articles, textbooks and teaching, he has consistently advocated for replacing the dichotomous approach of significance testing with estimation of effects. He received the American Public Health Association’s Abraham Lilienfeld Award for 2002, recognizing excellence in the teaching of epidemiology during the course of a career. He is a Fellow of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology, past president of the Society for Epidemiologic Research, and an honorary fellow of the American College of Epidemiology. In 2002 the journal Epidemiology renamed its annual prize the "Kenneth Rothman Epidemiology Prize.” In 2017 the Society for Epidemiologic Research awarded him its first Career Accomplishment Award. Subsequently, the annual award was renamed the “Kenneth J. Rothman Career Accomplishment Award.” He is the recipient of two honorary MD degrees, one from the University of Aarhus in 2017 and the other from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in 2024. Rothman has been a Professor of Epidemiology at Boston University since 1989. In addition to being Professor at Boston University, he is Distinguished Fellow Emeritus at the Research Triangle Institute and an Honorary Professor at the Faculty of Health of Aarhus University.

Other Positions

  • Professor, Medicine - Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Education

  • Harvard University, DPH/DrPH Field of Study: Epidemiology/Biostatistics
  • Harvard University, DMD Field of Study: Dental Medicine
  • Harvard University, MPH Field of Study: Epidemiology
  • Colgate University, AB Field of Study: Physical Sciences

Websites

Publications

  • Published on 10/12/2026

    Julián-Serrano S, Geller RJ, Koenig MR, Kuan KE, Pentz EP, Sommer G, Eisenberg ML, Rothman KJ, Hatch EE, Wesselink AK, Wise LA. Association Between Caffeinated Beverage Intake and Semen Quality in a Preconception Cohort. Andrology. 2026 Oct 12. PMID: 42861861.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/1/2026

    Huybrechts KF, Rothman KJ, Wisner KL. How Should We Interpret the Association Between Abortion and Mild Psychiatric Illness? JAMA Psychiatry. 2026 Oct 01; 83(10):1005-1006. PMID: 42485016.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/6/2026

    Wesselink AK, Geller RJ, Harlow AF, Ncube CN, Kuan KE, Savitz DA, Rothman KJ, Eisenberg ML, Wise LA. A Prospective Study of Preconception and Early Pregnancy Cannabis Use and Birth Outcomes. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2026 Sep 06. PMID: 42703005.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/12/2026

    Vinceti M, Till C, Goodman PJ, Filippini T, Rothman KJ, Thompson IM. The selenium and vitamin E cancer prevention trial (SELECT): a secondary, post-intervention analysis on potential excess chronic disease incidence induced by selenium administration. Am J Epidemiol. 2026 Aug 12. PMID: 42581651.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/22/2026

    Rothman KJ. Measuring synergy. Eur J Epidemiol. 2026 Jul; 41(7):817-818. PMID: 42484777.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/15/2026

    Harlow AF, Barrington-Trimis JL, Geller RJ, Rothman KJ, Wesselink AK, Wise LA. Cannabis Use Transitions During Early Pregnancy. Cannabis. 2026; 9(2):41-56. PMID: 42540880.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 6/24/2026

    Wise LA, Kuan KE, Nillni YI, Noel N, Bond JC, Lovett SM, Kuriyama AS, Howe CJ, Rothman KJ, Boynton-Jarrett R. Early life adversity and polycystic ovary syndrome among North American pregnancy planners. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2026 Jun 24. PMID: 42342098.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 6/16/2026

    Sundermann AC, Jasper EA, Buckley RJ, Rothman KJ, Wise LA. Home pregnancy test sensitivity by test timing and cycle length with real-world use among pregnancy planners who conceived. Fertil Steril. 2026 Oct; 126(4):693-700. PMID: 42303110.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/12/2026

    Mazzoli R, Chiari A, Rothman KJ, Vitolo M, Boriani G, De Girolamo G, Carrozzi G, Tondelli M, Filippini T, Vinceti M. Cardiometabolic diseases and risk of early-onset dementia: a population-based case-control study in Northern Italy. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2026 Sep; 36(9):104760. PMID: 42014279.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/1/2026

    Wesselink AK, Geller RJ, Lovett SM, Nillni YI, Savitz DA, Rothman KJ, Hatch EE, Wise LA. A prospective study of periconceptional perceived stress and rate of miscarriage. Hum Reprod. 2026 Apr 01; 41(4):606-615. PMID: 41677054.

     Read At: PubMed

View 591 more publications:View Full Profile at BUMC

News & In the Media

View all profiles