Ralph R. Frerichs

Who is Ralph R. Frerichs?

Dr. Frerichs is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Epidemiology and past Chair twice of the Faculty Executive Committee at the UCLA School of Public Health. He was the first Chair of Epidemiology when the Department was founded in 1988 (previously a division in a one-department school), and served in that capacity for 13 years, resigning in 2001 to return to the general faculty. Following retirement in October, 2008, Professor Frerichs continues teaching the summer version of EPI 100 Principles of Epidemiology; creates and manages internet-based educational sites; and does photography, specializing in panoramas of Western United States settings and landscapes.

Frerichs has pioneered the development of microcomputer applications for management oriented epidemiologists and decision-makers in less-developed countries. Included among these applications are rapid surveys and epidemiologic spreadsheet models for focused research. He also has developed HIV sentinel surveillance strategies, now in use in several Asian and South American countries, and evaluated tests for rapid, non-invasive HIV assessment to be used for surveillance and screening purposes.

Earlier in his career, Professor Frerichs conducted numerous cohort studies in Bogalusa, Louisiana, determining the natural history of cardiovascular risk factors in children. Since coming to UCLA, he was principal investigator (PI) of a large cohort study of Los Angeles adults to assess the epidemiology of mental depression and help-seeking behavior, PI of an extensive environmental investigation to study the health effects of recycled wastewater, and other smaller domestic and international studies.

In past decades, Dr. Frerichs has worked with various agencies on epidemiological- and management-related activities in Colombia, Bolivia, Honduras, Brazil, Kenya, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Mongolia, and islands of Micronesia.