Dr. Philip T. Cole

Phil was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Michigan State University (B.A., 1960), the University of Vermont (M.D., 1965), and Harvard University (M.P.H., 1967). He earned a Dr.P.H. in 1970, also from Harvard.

He began his professional career in Epidemiology at Harvard in 1969 where between 1969 and 1979 he authored or co-authored more than 70 research papers relating to the epidemiology of cancer in human beings.

In 1979 Phil relocated to Alabama where he assumed a position as Senior Scientist at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He served as Chairman of the Department of Epidemiology at UAB from 1981 to 1994, and during that time he authored or co-authored more than 130 research papers on causality in Epidemiology, health policy and law, innovative approaches to smoking cessation, occupational and chemical carcinogenesis and the health effects of electromagnetic fields. Phil retired from UAB and was named Professor Emeritus in 1999. He continued his career in Cancer Epidemiology by continuing to teach and consult on Epidemiological issues. He received many professional honors and awards, both nationally and internationally, for his distinguished achievements in the field of Public Health.

Phil is survived by his daughter, Julie Obermeyer (Joseph) of Osprey, Florida and two granddaughters, Katherine Obermeyer of Glen Cove, New York and Laura Obermeyer of Tampa, Florida. He also leaves two sisters, Cecilia Ryan and Paula Botzos, both of Natick, Massachusetts.

Services will be held privately for the family.

Services are under the direction of Ridout’s Valley Chapel (205-879-3401) in Homewood, Alabama.