The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health bestowed its highest honor for alumni to UW-CTRI Founding Director Dr. Michael Fiore. The award goes to an alumnus who has contributed significantly to public health. Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke at the event in Boston to honor Fiore, recognizing him for earning his master’s of public health at Harvard in 1985 and for going on to become a pioneer in helping millions live longer, healthier, tobacco-free lives.
Fiore founded UW-CTRI with Founding Research Director Dr. Tim Baker in 1992. Fiore served as UW-CTRI Director until July 2024. He remains a lead scientist at UW-CTRI, a general internist and preventive medicine specialist, treating patients for tobacco dependence.
“Given that I grew up in a low-income area of Boston, I’m touched to receive this honor from Harvard,” Fiore said. “You could say it’s a story of a local boy making good. And I certainly couldn’t have done it without Tim and all our fabulous colleagues and collaborators at UW-CTRI through the years.”
Fiore served as chair of the panels who produced all three editions of the U.S. Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline: Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, which provides a gold standard for healthcare providers.
Fiore chaired the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services subcommittee that produced a comprehensive plan for promoting tobacco cessation in the U.S. In 2005, Fiore was asked by the U.S. Justice Department (as part of their landmark lawsuit against the tobacco industry) to craft a $130 billion plan to assist 33 million smokers to quit.
Fiore is a nationally recognized expert on quitting smoking, having provided perspectives to audiences ranging from Good Morning America to the United States Senate. He has written hundreds of publications on cigarette smoking and contributed to two U.S. Surgeon General Reports.
Fiore’s chief focus has been to develop strategies to prompt clinicians and health care systems to intervene with patients who use tobacco. He spearheaded the concept of expanding the vital signs to include tobacco use status.
“Together, we’ve made a difference for patients and their families,” Fiore said. “I thank you, one and all.”