Dr. Burton Herbert Singer, PhD, a former associate dean of the Yale School of Public Health and former chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, passed away on February 15, 2026. An expert in statistics and tropical diseases, Singer’s scientific contributions led to significant health system reforms and epidemic interventions.
Singer’s research focused on four primary areas: developing statistical and mathematical methods for longitudinal survey analysis; identifying social, biological, and environmental risks associated with vector-borne tropical disease; performing health impact assessments associated with economic development projects; and integrating biology and biography to improve patient management for patients with multiple chronic conditions.
A professor of economics and statistics at Yale, Singer served as a mentor throughout his career, collaborating across teams to optimize public health policy. His research was cited by congressional leaders and multiple administrations, and his work helped improve national and global health policy. Singer was always guided by a commitment to the common good.
Singer received many prestigious awards and honors throughout his career. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1994, the National Academy of Medicine in 2005, and served as a Guggenheim Fellow in 1981-1982.
Singer was born on June 12, 1938, in Chicago to parents Ida and Isadore Singer. A bright and gifted child, he attended Lane Tech College Preparatory School and studied piano and violin at the Interlochen Center for the Arts Summer Camp. He received his BS in engineering science in 1959 and MS in mechanical engineering in 1961 from the Case Institute of Technology. He then completed his PhD in statistics at Stanford University in 1967. After completing his PhD, Singer moved to New York to begin his academic career as a professor of statistics at Columbia University, where he taught for 17 years. At Columbia, he met his wife, Eugenia, and served as chair of the Department of Statistics. Singer also served as chair of a World Health Organization steering committee for social and economic research in tropical diseases at this time.
In 1984, Dr. Singer accepted a position as professor of economics and statistics at Yale University. He then became associate dean of the Yale School of Public Health and chair of the then “Department” of Epidemiology and Public Health, where he served from 1989 to 1993. He later served as the Charles & Marie Robertson Professor of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University until 2009. From 2010 to 2020, Dr. Singer was a member of the Research Board of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. He also served as an adjunct professor in the Emerging Pathogens Institute and Department of Mathematics at the University of Florida from 2015 until his death.
Singer died at the age of 87. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Miriam Sulman. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Eugenia McGinness, his children Gregory Singer, Maureen Harrell, and Sheila Singer, a niece and nephew and five grandchildren. A celebration of life will be held in March.
Donations in his memory can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association to support Eugenia’s battle with the disease: www.alz.org.