A Tribute to Leon F. Burmeister, PhD (1941-2014).

Abstract

Leon F. Burmeister, statistical editor of Obstetrics & Gynecology from 1986 to 2013, died suddenly at his home in Iowa City, Iowa, on October 29, 2014. The evolution of statistical analysis in the Green Journal, in which Dr. Burmeister's role was central, was described in a recent publication.1 During his 27-year tenure with the journal (which, incidentally, represents nearly half of its existence), he personally evaluated thousands of manuscripts, sometimes identifying fatal flaws in statistics or design and more often making suggestions to improve the final product. He also provided educational programs for the Editorial Board at its annual meeting, and he was co-author on a number of publications describing the journal's research into its processes.FigureAn Iowan through and through, he exemplified all that is good about the heartland of America. Iowa expects its best people to be self-effacing and to shun self-promotion or any other activity that might distract from work and accomplishment. Leon was certainly true to this heritage. Born on a farm, he became an outstanding scholar and a star athlete in high school and then went on to Iowa State University, where he received his BA, MA, and PhD in statistics. He took a faculty appointment at the University of Iowa, where he would spend the next 42 years, retiring in 2011 as Professor of Biostatistics and Associate Dean for Research and Academic Affairs in the College of Public Health. Early in his time at the University of Iowa, Dr. Burmeister became Director of Biostatistics for the Clinical Research Center, leading to a professional career of working with clinicians and helping them understand statistics and experimental design. He understood that research involving humans can impose constraints on the scientific approach. Further, he appreciated fully the distinction between statistical and clinical significance, and, in fact, he quite often emphasized this distinction himself. He was willing to communicate directly with authors to help them understand the weaknesses in their manuscripts, and often he suggested how those weaknesses might be addressed. These communications, as indeed everything else Leon did, were marked by unfailing respect and graciousness. In our contacts with other medical journals, including those with the very strongest reputations, editors regularly expressed admiration for the Green Journal's system of evaluating statistics and design. In particular, editors were envious of the consistency of having a single statistical editor to conduct a thorough and prompt review. More than one asked, not entirely facetiously, about the prospect of hiring Leon away from the Green Journal. The period of 1986–2013 was one of remarkable growth in the Green Journal's reputation, as over this time it took its place among the top medical journals in the world. It is also the time of Leon Burmeister's service. If we were to ask Leon about this relationship, he would undoubtedly point out that it is an association and not necessarily cause and effect. In this case, however, the Editors Emeriti would overrule him.