John Jackson Howard is a physician, professor, and public health administrator. He served a 6-year term as the director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and was appointed to be a special coordinator to respond to the health effects of the September 11 attacks. In this role, Howard advocated for rescue workers, introducing a program to provide screening, medical exams, and treatment for them. In 2009, Howard was again appointed as director of NIOSH and as World Trade Center Programs coordinator for HHS. In 2011, Howard became the Administrator of the World Trade Center Health Program. In 2016, he became the first person to be appointed to a third 6-year term as NIOSH director.
Dr. Howard began his career in occupational health in 1979 as an internist at the UCLA School of Medicine pulmonary fellowship program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His clinical work involved asbestos-exposed shipyard workers, and he published research findings related to workplace exposure and occupational lung disease. He served as a medical director and chief clinician at the Philip Mandelker AIDS Prevention Clinic. He also worked as an assistant professor of environmental and occupational medicine at the University of California, Irvine.
John Howard served as the chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in California's Department of Industrial Relations from 1991 to 2002. There he administered a staff of nearly 1,000 and all the state's occupational and public safety programs. Through his administration of the division, Howard bolstered his reputation in the field as a passionate and able leader. He received praise for successfully implementing a controversial statewide ergonomic standard. He served in this capacity for more than a decade.
Under Dr. Howard, NIOSH shifted its research efforts to focus on emerging technologies. Howard sought practical applications for the new research. This included an initiative called "research-to-practice" to ensure that NIOSH's findings would turn into practices and products that would ultimately benefit workers. He directed research on mining, nanotechnology, job stress, and ergonomics. Howard summarized the adjustments the Institute needed to make: Howard expanded the National Occupational Research Agenda instituted by his predecessor, Dr. Rosenstock, using it as a vehicle to work toward the Institute's updated aims.
As a public health administrator, Howard was admired for his ability to collaborate effectively, even with adversarial parties. He was noted for the tone of "openness and cooperation" he set and for listening to and seeking input from all available stakeholders.
Removal from NIOSH
As Dr. Howard's 6-year term approached its close, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Julie Gerberding met with him to inform him that he would not be reappointed. His term ended on July 14, 2008, in a "controversial decision that brought criticism from safety and health stakeholders". He completed his term and began serving as a temporary senior advisor to the CDC director. NIOSH associate director Christine Branche, Ph.D., served as acting director in Dr. Howard's place.
Reappointment at NIOSH
On September 3, 2009, HHS SecretaryKathleen Sebelius announced Howard's reappointment as director of NIOSH and World Trade Center Programs coordinator for HHS. In 2016, Howard became the first person to be appointed to a third 6-year term as NIOSH director.
