A trailblazer in advancing global epidemiologic research, Clareann Bunker, PhD, faculty member in the School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology for more than three decades, passed away on November 20, 2024.
Dr. Bunker received a bachelor’s degree in zoology from Wellesley College in 1961. After working in the genetics field for nearly 20 years, she returned to higher education, earning an MPH and PhD in epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University (1980) and the University of Pittsburgh (1984). A year later, she was appointed to a faculty position at the School of Public Health where she taught until her retirement in 2016.
Her initial research focused on understanding the risk factors related to cardiac disease in Nigeria. Later, she received a grant from the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center to empower Indian researchers with computational modeling tools. She also initiated a large birth cohort study outside of Hyderabad, India with department colleague and faculty member Cathy Haggerty.
In 1997, Dr. Bunker became engaged in research to screen and treat prostate cancer in Tobagonian men, which resulted in reduced mortality rates from the disease. Dubbed the Tobago Health Studies, the research program expanded over the years to include women, and added new research areas that now include One Health, family and genetic studies, obesity, hypertension, diabetes and dementia. Her legacy in program continues through follow-up grants awarded to Department of Epidemiology faculty members Joe Zmuda, Iva Miljkovic, Caterina Rosano and Allison Kuipers.
A committed and engaged instructor, Dr. Bunker chaired 15 doctoral committees and was primary advisor for 14 master’s level students and trained mentees in Nigeria, Cameroon, Trinidad, Tobago and India. She was inducted into the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, Omicron Chapter, and received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the school in 2010. The Caribbean Public Health Agency awarded her a special commendation for research excellence in 2019.
An avid hiker, she explored the many countries she worked in on foot, finding a unique connection to the people and places she studied.
A memorial service to honor Dr. Bunker will be held on May 26, 2025 in Bar Harbor, Maine.