Sarah Fowler, PhD, MS

Sarah Fowler is a Research Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Director of The George Washington University Biostatistics Center.

• Phone: (301) 881-9260
• Fax: (301) 881-1225
• Email: fowler@biostat.bsc.gwu.edu

Professor Fowler is a biostatistician who has devoted her career to coordinating multi-center national and international NIH-funded clinical trials and epidemiological studies. For the past 25 years, she has designed, monitored and analyzed studies and overseen quality assurance, at The George Washington University Biostatistics Center. That longstanding dedication was capped by her appointment as the Center's director in 2001.

As principal investigator and primary statistician for the data and statistical coordinating centers of numerous trials, Dr. Fowler has helped make advances in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, pulmonary embolism, contraceptive epidemiology, bone density and metabolism, prenatal diagnosis and maternal-fetal medicine. Her findings often have direct application to patient care and treatment recommendations. For example, her recent work on diabetes led the American Diabetes Association to revise its screening guidelines, and to add the new clinical term "pre-diabetes" to underscore the implications of impaired glucose tolerance; the study findings may also lead to a new definition of Type 2 diabetes. Dr. Fowler's projects involve broad interdisciplinary collaborations, and have connected her with leading researchers across North America and in Europe.

Education

Master of Science (Statistics), Rutgers University, 1969
Doctor of Philosophy (Statistics), The George Washington University, 1982

Research

Areas of special research interest to Dr. Fowler include the analysis and interpretation of clinical trials; the organization and management of trials; and ways in which computer and database technology can be applied to improve the quality of those trials. She is currently Coordinating Center PI of the Diabetes Prevention Program, funded by the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, and of the Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis Study.

Community Service

Professor Fowler is a member of the Data Safety Monitoring Boards of several NIH-funded multi-center trials; these are designed to protect patient safety and the timeliness of results. She is also a reviewer for the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology.

Departments

• Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Institutes & Centers

• Biostatistics Center

Research Activities

• CVS and Amniocentesis Study (former PI)
• Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)
• Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS)
• Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding Intervention Trial (DUBIT)
• Maternal Fetal Medicine Units Network (former PI)
• Prevention of Events with Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibition (PEACE) - Clinical Trial
• Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis (PIOPED II)
• Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis (PIOPED III)
• Sites Testing Osteoporosis Prevention/Intervention Treatments (STOPIT)
• The Women's Health Study

Publications

• Effect of progression from impaired glucose tolerance to diabetes on cardiovascular risk factors and its amelioration by lifestyle and metformin intervention.
  The Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Effect of progression from impaired glucose tolerance to diabetes on cardiovascular risk factors and its amelioration by lifestyle and metformin intervention. Diabetes Care. 2009 Apr;32(4):726-32. PMCID: PMC2660486
• Evaluating the accuracy of an aneroid sphygmomanometer in a clinical trial setting.
  Ma Y, Temprosa M, Fowler S, Prineas R, Montez M, Brown-Friday J, Carrion-Petersen M, and Whittington T for the Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Evaluating the accuracy of an aneroid sphygmomanometer in a clinical trial setting. Am J Hypertens. 2009 Mar;22(3):263-6.
• Methods of Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis III (PIOPED III).
  Stein PD, Gottschalk A, Sostman HD, Chenevert TL, Fowler SE, Goodman LR, Hales CA, Hull RD, Kanal E, Leeper KV, Nadich DP, Sak DJ, Tapson VF, Wakefield TW, Weg JG, Woodard PK. Methods of Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis III (PIOPED III). Nemin Nucl Med 2008, 38:462-470.
• Prevention of Diabetes in Women with a History of Gestational Diabetes: Effects of Metformin and Lifestyle Interventions.
  Ratner RE, Christophi CA, Metzger BE, Dabelea D, Bennett PH, Pi-Sunyer X, Fowler S, Kahn SE; The Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Prevention of Diabetes in Women with a History of Gestational Diabetes: Effects of Metformin and Lifestyle Interventions. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Dec;93(12):4774-9. PMCID=2626441
• The prevalence of retinopathy in impaired glucose tolerance and recent-onset diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program.
  The Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. The prevalence of retinopathy in impaired glucose tolerance and recent-onset diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Diabet Med. 2007 Jan;24(2):137-44. PMID=11832527, PMCID=1370926
• Relationship of body size and shape to the development of diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program.
  The Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Relationship of body size and shape to the development of diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Obesity. 2006 Nov;14(11):2107-17. PMCID=17135629
• The influence of age on the effects of lifestyle modification and metformin in prevention of diabetes.
  The Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. The influence of age on the effects of lifestyle modification and metformin in prevention of diabetes. J Gerontol. 2006;61A(10):1075-81. PMID=17077202, PMCID=1783677
• Diagnostic pathways in acute pulmonary embolism: recommendations of the PIOPED II investigators.
  Stein PD, Woodard PK, Weg JG, Wakefield TW, Tapson VF, Sostman HD, Sos TA, Quinn DA, Leeper KV, Hull RD, Hales CA, Gottschalk A, Goodman LR, Fowler SE, Buckley JD. Diagnostic pathways in acute pulmonary embolism: recommendations of the PIOPED II investigators. Radiology 2007; 242:15-21. PMID=17185658
• Multidetector Spiral CT For Acute Pulmonary Embolism: Results Of The Pioped II Trial.
  Stein PD, Fowler SE, Goodman LR, Gottschalk A, Hales CA, Hull RD, Leeper KV, Popovich J, Quinn DA, Sos TA, Sostman HD, Tapson VF, Wakefield TW, Weg JG, Woodard PK for the PIOPED II Investigators. Multidetector Spiral CT For Acute Pulmonary Embolism: Results Of The Pioped II Trial. N Engl J Med 2006; 354:2317-27. PMID=16738268
• The Prevalence of Retinopathy in Impaired Glucose Tolerance and Recent-Onset Diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program.
  The Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. The Prevalence of Retinopathy in Impaired Glucose Tolerance and Recent-Onset Diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Diabetic Medicine 2006; 24:137-144. PMID=17257275, PMCID=2267935
• TCF7L2 Polymorphisms and progression to diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program.
  Florez J, Jablonski K, Bayley N, Pollin T, de Bakker P, Kitabchi A, Shuldiner A, Knowler W, Nathan D and Altshuler D for the Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. TCF7L2 Polymorphisms and progression to diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program. N Engl J Med 2006; 355:241-50. PMID=16855264, PMCID=1762036
• Intensive lifestyle and metformin on inflammation and coagulation in participants with impaired glucose tolerance.
  Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Intensive lifestyle and metformin on inflammation and coagulation in participants with impaired glucose tolerance. Diabetes 2005;54(5):1566-72.
• Effect of metformin and lifestyle intervention on the metabolic syndrome.
  Orchard TJ, Temprosa M, Goldberg R, Haffner S, Ratner R, Marcovina S, Fowler S, for the Diabetes Prevention Program. Effect of metformin and lifestyle intervention on the metabolic syndrome. Ann Int Med 2005;142(8):611-19.
• Angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibition in stable coronary artery disease.
  The PEACE Trial Investigators. Angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibition in stable coronary artery disease. N Engl J Med 2004;351:2058-68.
• Prevention of type 2 diabetes with troglitazone in the Diabetes Prevention Program.
  The Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Prevention of type 2 diabetes with troglitazone in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Diabetes 2005;54(4):1150-6
• Preventing type 2 diabetes: the Diabetes Prevention Program.
  Nathan DM, Hamman RP, Garfield S, Brenneman A, Fowler SE, Knowler WC, for The Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Preventing type 2 diabetes: the Diabetes Prevention Program. In: LeRoith D, Taylor ST, Olefsky JM, editors. Diabetes mellitus: a fundamental and clinical text, 3rd edition. Philadelphia: Lippencott, Williams and Wilkens; 2004.
• Impact of intensive lifestyle and metformin therapy on cardiovascular (CVD) risk factors in the Diabetes Prevention Program.
  Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Impact of intensive lifestyle and metformin therapy on cardiovascular (CVD) risk factors in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Diabetes Care 2005;28(4):888-94.
• Gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for the detection of acute pulmonary embolism: an in depth review.
  Stein PD, Woodard PK, Hull RD, Kayali F, Weg JG, Fowler SE. Gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for the detection of acute pulmonary embolism: an in depth review. Chest 2003;124:2324-8.
• Effects of withdrawal from metformin on the development of diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program.
  The Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Effects of withdrawal from metformin on the development of diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Diabetes Care 2003;26:977-80.
• Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin.
  The Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med 2002;346:393-403.
• Combination treatment with estrogen and clacitriol in the prevention of age related bone loss.
  Gallagher JC, Fowler SE, Detter JR, Sherman SS. Combination treatment with estrogen and clacitriol in the prevention of age related bone loss. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2001;86:3618-28.