Jeremy Howick is a Canadian-born, British residing clinical epidemiologist and philosopher of science. He researches

evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available exte ...

, clinical empathy and the

philosophy of medicine The philosophy of medicine is a branch of philosophy that explores issues in theory, research, and practice within the field of health sciences, more specifically in topics of epistemology, metaphysics, and medical ethics, which overlaps with bioe ...

, including the use of

placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

s in clinical practice and clinical trials. He is the author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers, as well as two books, ''The Philosophy of Evidence-Based Medicine'' in 2011, and ''Doctor You'' in 2017. In 2016, he received the Dawkins & Strutt grant from the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

to study

pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sense, sensory and emotional experience associated with, or res ...

treatment. He publishes in

Philosophy of Medicine The philosophy of medicine is a branch of philosophy that explores issues in theory, research, and practice within the field of health sciences, more specifically in topics of epistemology, metaphysics, and medical ethics, which overlaps with bioe ...

and medical journals. He is a member of the

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...

research honours society.

Early life and education

Howick, a native of

Montreal, Canada Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada, and the ninth-largest in North America. It was founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", and is now named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

, is a graduate of

Westmount High School Westmount High School () is a public co-educational anglophone secondary school located in Westmount, Quebec, Canada, located near Alexis Nihon Complex Shopping Mall. Westmount High is Quebec's first and only public school to offer Advanced ...

. He holds a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Engineering from the

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, and graduate degrees from

The London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

and the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. His PhD in

Philosophy of medicine The philosophy of medicine is a branch of philosophy that explores issues in theory, research, and practice within the field of health sciences, more specifically in topics of epistemology, metaphysics, and medical ethics, which overlaps with bioe ...

at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

was conducted under the supervision of

Nancy Cartwright Nancy Jean Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress, best known as the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on ''The Simpsons'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and an Annie Award f ...

and John Worrall, with a thesis entitled ''Philosophical essentials in evidence-based medicine: Evaluating the epistemological role of double blinding and placebo controls'', published in 2008. He is the Director of the Oxford Empathy Programme at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford. As a freshman at

, Howick learned to row. He subsequently competed in internationals for Canada at the 1994 World Championships, and won a silver medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games. He also competed in The Boat Race 1996 representing

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Career

Howick has worked at the

, including at the

Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine The Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM), based in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford, is an academic-led centre dedicated to the practice, teaching, and dissemination of high quality evidenc ...

since 2007. Together with

Muir Gray Sir John Armstrong Muir Gray is a British physician, who has held senior positions in Screening (medicine), screening, public health, information management. and value in healthcare. He was the Chief knowledge officer, Chief Knowledge Officer ...

, he founded the Oxford Empathy Programme, and the Oxford Philosophy and Medicine Network. His main post is at the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

where he is the director of the Stoneygate Centre for Excellence in Empathic Healthcare. Howick designed a trial of placebo treatments for back pain for a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

documentary.

Research

Howick's research combines

with medical research (especially

Evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available exte ...

. Howick's book, "The Philosophy of Evidence-Based Medicine" is a critical defense of the

Hierarchy of evidence A hierarchy of evidence, comprising levels of evidence (LOEs), that is, evidence levels (ELs), is a heuristic used to rank the relative strength of results obtained from experimental research, especially medical research. There is broad agreemen ...

. His research focuses on empathy, where his main contribution has been to evaluate empathy in healthcare the same way drugs are evaluated, with systematic reviews of randomised trials. He recently conducted a study showing that the definition of

empathy Empathy is generally described as the ability to take on another person's perspective, to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience. There are more (sometimes conflicting) definitions of empathy that include but are ...

is not as confusing as previously assumed. His systematic review found that 1 in 10

patient safety Patient safety is a specialized field about enhancing healthcare quality through the systematic prevention, reduction, reporting, and analysis of medical errors and preventable harm that contribute to severe outcomes for the patient. While health ...

incidents are caused by poor communication. Howick's work on

effects culminated in a book ''The Power of Placebos: How the Science of Placebos and Nocebos Can Improve Health Care''. His research in this area also includes a systematic review suggesting that the magnitude of placebo effects is similar to the magnitude of drug effects, most notably for treating pain (although the latter includes the placebo effect). and another suggesting that 'honest' placebos (that patients know are placebos) can also be effective. His research has been translated for popular audiences in his book ''Doctor You''.

References

External links

*
Find an Expert: Dr Jeremy Howick
* Dartmouth College alumni British epidemiologists Philosophers of science 21st-century British philosophers People from Quorn, Leicestershire Living people Academics of the University of Oxford Academics of the University of Leicester Placebo researchers British medical researchers Alumni of the London School of Economics Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-med-bio-stub