Dr. Ralph Frankowski

Ralph Frankowski, PhD, faculty emeritus at UTHealth School of Public Health, 84, of Houston, Texas, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on December 17, 2019. Dr. Frankowski was born on October 24, 1935 to Joseph and Lillian in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating from Fenwick High School in 1953, he went on to study Mathematics at Depaul University in Chicago, where he received both his Bachelors (1957) and Masters (1959). He then attended the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. He specialized in Biostatistics and earned his Masters (1962) and Doctorate (1967) in Public Health. While attending graduate school, Dr. Frankowski was an Instructor in Mathematics at Barat College in Lake Forest, Illinois. After graduation from the University of Michigan, he accepted an invitation as an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics at the School of Tropical Medicine and Public Health at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. This started off his lifetime career in Public Health and Biostatistics. In 1970, Dr. Frankowski joined the UTHealth School of Public Health's division of biometry, now known as the Department of Biostatistics and Data Science. He served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 1976-1982, and Interim Director of the School's Center for the Prevention of Injury and Violence from 1993-1995. Dr. Frankowski retired from UTHealth School of Public Health in 2013. Spanning more than five decades, Dr. Frankowski's research focused on the design, analysis and coordination of epidemiological studies and clinical trials. He was renowned for his studies on stroke, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury, and was instrumental in the creation of the North American Clinical Trials Network ( NACTN ) for the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury, a consortium of university hospital neurosurgical and neurorehabilitation teams, who bring therapy treatments into clinical trials. His research was well regarded nationally and internationally and was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, and other funding agencies. Throughout his career, Dr. Frankowski was recognized for his outstanding teaching, research and academic leadership skills. He received UTHealth School of Public Health's Golden Apple Award for Teaching Excellence in 1989 and the UTHealth School of Public Health Dean's Excellence in Teaching Award eight times throughout the '90s and 2000s. He was a forever-member of UTHealth's Institutional Review Board (IRB) and devoted much of his career to the ethical protection of human subjects. He served on numerous advisory committees for organizations of national importance including the National Institutes of Health, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, and Centers for Disease Control. "Ralph was a great colleague and peer. He had a real commitment to public health and good science. He brought to the Institution strong collaborative instincts and a great sense of humor that would brighten the entire School." says Eric Boerwinkle, PhD, dean of the UTHealth School of Public Health. After retiring from the UTHealth School of Public Health in 2013, Ralph spent his time consulting at the UTHealth School of Public Health serving as chair and co-chairs of several committees. In 1962, Ralph met Elizabeth Trepp. They wed in1963 and began their family with three children: Carolyn, Linda, and James. They raised their family in Houston, Texas, where Ralph enjoyed golfing, watching Astros baseball games, and playing the piano with his family. Ralph was preceded in death by his siblings: Joseph J. Frankowski, Vivian M. Weiss, Lucille R. Wiegel. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Elizabeth Frankowski; daughter, Carolyn Frankowski and husband Aitor Zurutuza; daughter Linda Luehrmann and husband Nils Luehrmann; son, James Frankowski; grandchildren, Ian, Julen, and Karlos Zurutuza, Erik and Anika Luehrmann, and numerous other loving relatives and friends. In lieu of flowers, we are setting up a Memorial Fund at the University of Texas School of Public Health. Please consider donating to Dr. Ralph Frankowski Memorial Fund.