:Miquel Porta

Miquel Porta (Barcelona, 1957) is a Catalan physician, epidemiologist and scholar. He has promoted the integration of biological, clinical and environmental knowledge and methods in health research and teaching, which he has conducted internationally; notably, in Spain, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Harvard, Imperial College London, and several other universities in Europe, North America, Kuwait, and Brazil. Appointed by the International Epidemiological Association (IEA),[http://www.dundee.ac.uk/iea The International Epidemiological Association] in 2008 he succeeded the Canadian epidemiologist John M. Last as Editor of "A Dictionary of Epidemiology".Miquel Porta (2014) [http://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-dictionary-of-epidemiology-9780199976737?cc=us&lang=en A dictionary of epidemiology], 6th edn, New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|9780199976737}}.Porta M, ed. A dictionary of epidemiology. 5th. edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-19-531450-2}} and {{ISBN|0-19-531450-6}} {{cite web|url=http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Medicine/EpidemiologyBiostatistics/?view=usa&ci=9780195314502 |title=Oxford University Press: A Dictionary of Epidemiology: Miquel Porta |access-date=2011-04-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604141622/http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Medicine/EpidemiologyBiostatistics/?view=usa&ci=9780195314502 |archive-date=2011-06-04 }} (the 6th. was published in June 2014) In the Preface to this book he argues for an inclusive and integrative practice of the science of epidemiology. In September 2023, Porta made public through several social networks a call to suggest changes to the new, 7th. edition of the dictionary. The deadline for such contributions is 30 November 2023.

He is currently the head of the Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology of Cancer Unit{{cite web|url=http://www.imim.es/programesrecerca/epidemiologia/en_grecm.html |title=Miquel porta - IMIM |publisher=Imim.es |access-date=2011-03-10}} at the Hospital del Mar Institute of Medical Research - IMIM Hospital del Mar Research Institute.[http://www.imim.es Hospital del Mar Research Institute] He is also a Professor of Preventive Medicine & Public Health, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB),{{cite web|author=Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona |url=http://www.uab.cat/english/ |title=Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |publisher=Uab.cat |access-date=2011-03-10}} an adjunct professor of Epidemiology at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC),{{Cite web|url=https://sph.unc.edu/epid/epid-faculty-and-staff/|title=Faculty and Staff|website=UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health}} and an adjunct professor at the New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine.{{Cite web|url=https://med.nyu.edu/education-research|title=Education & Research at NYU Langone Health|website=NYU Langone Health}}{{Cite web|url=https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/miquel-porta|title = Miquel Porta}} After graduating from the UAB School of Medicine in 1981, Porta was during 3 years a Fellow with the Division of Clinical Pharmacology of UAB. He was then awarded a Fulbright scholarship to pursue the Master of Public Health (MPH) program at UNC, where he was later a Burroughs Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow in Pharmacoepidemiology.

The three main lines of research of his Unit at IMIM are: 1) Clinical and molecular epidemiology of pancreatic cancer and cancer of the extrahepatic biliary system. Gene-environment interactions with organochlorine compounds in the etiopathogenesis of pancreatic diseases. 2) Screening, early clinical detection, and "diagnostic delay" in cancer. 3) Assessing the impact on human health of Persistent Organic Pollutant (POPs).Porta M, et al. Monitoring concentrations of persistent organic pollutants in the general population: the international experience. Environment International 2008; 34: 546-561.

Other than at the UAB School of Medicine, he has also taught on molecular epidemiology, clinical epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology at other institutions, including McGill University (Montreal, Canada), Imperial College (London), the European Educational Programme in Epidemiology (Firenze, Italy), several universities in Kuwait, Germany, Norway, Italy, Brazil and Mexico, and at Harvard, where he was on sabbatical in 1998-1999. He has acted as a grant and doctoral thesis reviewer for the Karolinska Institutet, the Finnish Academy, Diabetes UK, and several other European and American scientific organisations.

From 1994 to 1998 he was President of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology (SEE). From 2002 to 2005 he was European Councillor of the International Epidemiological Association (IEA) and Chairman of the IEA European Epidemiology Federation.{{cite web |url=http://www.dundee.ac.uk/iea/Europe.htm |title=IEA Change of Website URLs |publisher=Dundee.ac.uk |access-date=2011-03-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314082351/http://www.dundee.ac.uk/iea/Europe.htm |archive-date=2009-03-14 |url-status=dead }}

He is (co)author of several hundred academic papers.{{cite web|url=http://www.researcherid.com/rid/B-5787-2008 |title=Miquel Porta B-5787-2008 |publisher=ResearcherID.com |access-date=2011-03-10}} Beyond his main lines of research, he has written on topics such as causality{{cite journal | last1 = Geneletti | first1 = SG | last2 = Gallo | first2 = V | last3 = Porta | first3 = M | last4 = Khoury | first4 = MJ | last5 = Vineis | first5 = P | date = Jun 2011 | title = Assessing causal relationships in genomics: From Bradford-Hill criteria to complex gene-environment interactions and directed acyclic graphs | journal = Emerg Themes Epidemiol | volume = 8 | issue = 1| page = 5 | doi=10.1186/1742-7622-8-5| pmc = 3141807 | pmid=21658235 | doi-access = free }} and the Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) / Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) link,{{cite journal | last1 = Morabia | first1 = A | last2 = Porta | first2 = M | year = 1998 | title = Ethics of ignorance: lessons from the epidemiological assessment of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy ('Mad Cow Disease') epidemic | journal = Perspectives in Biology and Medicine | volume = 41 | issue = 2| pages = 259–266 | doi=10.1353/pbm.1998.0022| pmid = 9493402 | s2cid = 13239444 }}{{cite journal | last1 = Porta | first1 = M | last2 = Morabia | first2 = A | year = 2004 | title = Why aren't we more ahead? The risk of variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease from eating Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy-infected foods: Still undetermined [Editorial] | journal = European Journal of Epidemiology | volume = 19 | issue = 4| pages = 287–289 | doi=10.1023/b:ejep.0000024787.22873.cf| pmid = 15180097 | s2cid = 1357381 }} persistent organic pollutants and public health,{{cite journal | last1 = Porta | first1 = M | year = 2006 | title = Persistent organic pollutants and the burden of diabetes | journal = The Lancet | volume = 368 | issue = 9535| pages = 558–559 | doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(06)69174-5| pmid = 16905002 | s2cid = 45492710 }}{{cite journal | last1 = Porta | first1 = M | year = 2004 | title = Persistent toxic substances: exposed individuals and exposed populations | journal = Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health | volume = 58 | issue = 7| pages = 534–535 | doi=10.1136/jech.2004.021238| pmc = 1732812}}Porta M, Lee DH, Puigdomènech E. Transgenerational inheritance of environmental obesogens [Editorial]. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2009; 66: 141-142.{{cite journal | last1 = Porta | first1 = M | last2 = Zumeta | first2 = E | year = 2002 | title = Implementing the Stockholm treaty on POPs [Editorial] | journal = Occupational & Environmental Medicine | volume = 59 | issue = 10| pages = 651–652 | doi=10.1136/oem.59.10.651| pmc = 1740221 | pmid=12356922}}{{cite journal | last1 = Porta | first1 = M | year = 2002 | title = Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, persistent organic pollutants and the achievable utopias | journal = Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health | volume = 56 | issue = 11| pages = 806–807 | doi=10.1136/jech.56.11.806| pmc = 1732063 | pmid=12388564}} genome metaphors,{{cite journal | last1 = Porta | first1 = M | year = 2003 | title = The genome sequence is a jazz score | journal = International Journal of Epidemiology | volume = 32 | issue = 1| pages = 29–31 | doi=10.1093/ije/dyg015| pmid = 12690001 | doi-access = free }} the bibliographic impact factor and scientific journals,{{cite journal | last1 = Porta | first1 = M | year = 1996 | title = The bibliographic 'impact factor' of ISI, Inc.: How relevant is it really for public health journals? | journal = Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health | volume = 50 | issue = 6| pages = 606–610 | doi=10.1136/jech.50.6.606| pmc = 1060373 | pmid=9039375}}{{cite journal | last1 = Porta | first1 = M | last2 = Fernandez | first2 = E | last3 = The | first3 = Bolúmar F. | year = 2006 | title = "bibliographic impact factor" and the still uncharted sociology of epidemiology | journal = International Journal of Epidemiology | volume = 35 | issue = 5| pages = 1130–1135 | doi=10.1093/ije/dyl196| pmid = 16987846 | doi-access = free }}{{cite journal | last1 = Porta | first1 = M | last2 = Álvarez-Dardet | first2 = C | year = 2008 | title = How come scientists uncritically adopt and embody Thomson's bibliographic impact factor? [Editorial Comment] | journal = Epidemiology | volume = 19 | issue = 3| pages = 370–371 | doi=10.1097/ede.0b013e31816b73ab| pmid = 18414082 | doi-access = free }}{{cite journal | last1 = Porta | first1 = M | last2 = Vandenbroucke | first2 = JP | last3 = Ioannidis | first3 = JP | last4 = Sanz | first4 = S | last5 = Fernandez | first5 = E | last6 = Bhopal | first6 = R | last7 = Morabia | first7 = A | last8 = Victora | first8 = C | last9 = Lopez | first9 = T | date = May 2013 | title = Trends in citations to books on epidemiologicaland statistical methods in the biomedical literature | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 8 | issue = 5| page = e61837 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0061837 | pmid = 23667447 | pmc = 3646840 | bibcode = 2013PLoSO...861837P | doi-access = free }} or the roles of scientific associations,Porta M. Do we really need ‘real’ epidemiological scientific meetings? [Editorial]" European Journal of Epidemiology 2003; 18: 101-103.Barros H, Porta M. Bridging worlds–The European Congress of Epidemiology" Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 2004; 58 (Supl. 1): iii-v. among other issues.{{Cite web | title=El cáncer no es una lotería; en algunas ciudades hay más riesgo - Entrevista: Miquel Porta {{!}} El mapa más detallado de la mortalidad en España | newspaper=El País | trans-title=Cancer is not a lottery; in some cities there is more risk - Interview: Miquel Porta {{!}} The most detailed map of mortality in Spain | date=2007-09-01 | language=es | url=http://elpais.com/diario/2007/09/01/sociedad/1188597606_850215.html}}{{Cite web | title=Ver lo que nos sale a cuenta | language=es | newspaper=El País | date=2010-06-10 | page=31 | url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/opinion/Ver/nos/sale/cuenta/elpepiopi/20100610elpepiopi_12/Tes | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228015950/http://www.elpais.com/articulo/opinion/Ver/nos/sale/cuenta/elpepiopi/20100610elpepiopi_12/Tes | archive-date=2011-12-28 | trans-title=See what we get}}{{Cite web | title=La salud pública exige más cooperación | newspaper=El País | date=2011-05-03 | page=37 | url=http://elpais.com/diario/2011/05/03/opinion/1304373613_850215.html | url-access=subscription | trans-title=Public health requires more cooperation}}{{Cite web | title=La nueva Ley General de Salud Pública: desarrollarla es el gran reto del próximo Gobierno | language=es | trans-title=The new General Public Health Law: developing it is the great challenge of the next Government | url-access=subscription | newspaper=El País | date=2011-10-03 | page=36 | url=http://sociedad.elpais.com/sociedad/2011/10/03/actualidad/1317592804_850215.html}}{{Cite web | title=Salud en todas las políticas | language=es | trans-title=Health in all policies | newspaper=El País | date=2008-06-24| page=41 | url=http://elpais.com/diario/2008/06/24/salud/1214258403_850215.html | url-access=subscription | access-date=2024-07-02}}{{Cite web | title=Cerco a las sustancias tóxicas persistentes | newspaper=El País | date=2007-01-30| page=41 | url=http://elpais.com/diario/2007/01/30/salud/1170111601_850215.html | url-access=subscription | trans-title=Fence of persistent toxic substances | language=es}}

{{Cite web | title=Los viajeros ocultos de la obesidad | newspaper= El País | date=2006-04-18 | url=http://elpais.com/diario/2006/04/18/salud/1145311201_850215.html | language=es |url-access=subscription | trans-title=The hidden travelers of obesity }}{{Cite web | title=Contaminantes para nuestros nietos | newspaper=El País | date=2002-01-15 | url=http://elpais.com/diario/2002/01/15/salud/1011049201_850215.html | language=es |url-access=subscription | trans-title=Pollutants for our grandchildren}}{{Cite web | title=Facultades de medicina: internacionales o marginales | newspaper=El País | date=2006-10-10 | url=http://elpais.com/diario/2006/10/10/salud/1160431203_850215.html | language=es |url-access=subscription | trans-title=Medical schools: international or marginal}}{{Cite web | title=EPO: algo más que un problema de dosis | newspaper=El País | date=2007-06-19 | url=http://elpais.com/diario/2007/06/19/salud/1182204009_850215.html| language=es |url-access=subscription | trans-title=EPO: more than a dosage problem}}{{Cite web | title=Razones para no decidir con prisas | newspaper=El País | date=2007-11-06 | url=http://elpais.com/diario/2007/11/06/salud/1194303609_850215.html | language=es |url-access=subscription | trans-title=Reasons not to decide in a hurry}}{{Cite web | title=El problema no es la toxicidad aguda | newspaper=El País | date=2008-04-29 | url=http://elpais.com/diario/2008/04/29/sociedad/1209420007_850215.html| language=es |url-access=subscription | trans-title=The problem is not acute toxicity}}{{Cite web | title=Cuerpos tóxicos. El impacto cultural de nuestra contaminación interior | newspaper=La Vanguardia | date=2009-11-25 | url=http://www.lavanguardia.com/cultura/20091125/53829839508/cuerpos-toxicos.html | language=es | trans-title=Toxic bodies. The cultural impact of our indoor pollution}}{{Cite web | title=Entrevista a Miquel Porta - Debemos combatir los agentes tóxicos | newspaper=La Vanguardia | date=2009-08-19 | url=http://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20090819/53768059213/debemos-combatir-los-agentes-toxicos.html | trans-title=Interview with Miquel Porta - We must fight toxic agents | language=es}}

He is an editor of the ‘Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health’ [http://jech.bmj.com/ Homepage], and the ‘European Journal of Epidemiology’.{{cite web|url=http://www.springerlink.com/content/102883/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016124235/http://www.springerlink.com/content/102883/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-10-16 |title=European Journal of Epidemiology |publisher=SpringerLink |access-date=2011-03-10}}

In 2018 he published his first book addressed to the general public on human internal contamination and ways to prevent it.Porta M. Vive más y mejor reduciendo tóxicos y contaminantes ambientales (Barcelona, Grijalbo). {{cite web|url=https://www.megustaleer.com/libros/vive-ms-y-mejor/MES-083079 |title=Vive más y mejor reduciendo tóxicos y contaminantes ambientales}} In 2019 he edited 'Los imaginarios colectivos, la salud pública y la vida. Para conversar desde las artes sobre nuestro bienestar en sociedad', an internationally unique collection of texts relating public health and medicine with the arts.Porta M (ed.). Los imaginarios colectivos, la salud pública y la vida. Para conversar desde las artes sobre nuestro bienestar en sociedad. Madrid: Los Libros de la Catarata, 2019. Preface by Rosa Ballester, epilogue by Victoria Camps. Several authors, including Carlos Álvarez-Dardet, Ferran Ballester, Fernando G. Benavides, José Luis Bimbela, Rafa Cofiño, Esteve Fernandez, Ana M. García, Ildefonso Hernández-Aguado, Joan Carles March, Milagros Pérez Oliva, Andreu Segura, Andrés Rábago (el Roto). {{cite web|url=https://seepidemiologia.es/libro-los-imaginarios-colectivos-la-salud-publica-y-la-vida// |title=Los imaginarios colectivos, la salud pública y la vida. Para conversar desde las artes sobre nuestro bienestar en sociedad.|date=5 July 2019 }} In 2022 he published 'Epidemiología cercana', a collection of essays on epidemiology, culture, ethics, and policies.Porta M. Epidemiología cercana. La salud pública, la carne y el oxidado cuchillo del miedo. Foreword by Pampa García Molina. Epilogue by Miguel Hernán. Editorial Triacastela, Madrid, 2022. {{cite book|title=Epidemiología cercana|id={{ASIN|8417252215|country=es}} }}