In 1982, while an undergraduate, Dr Camargo started the first of several studies on the health effects of moderate alcohol consumption. The focus of this research, including his doctoral thesis at Harvard School of Public Health, is the relation between moderate drinking and cardiovascular disease. Dr Camargo currently serves on the 2005 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.

Since 1996, Dr Camargo's primary area of research has been obstructive airway disease. He is studying the causes of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in several large national cohorts. In 1998, his team described a strong association between obesity and risk of developing asthma. This novel finding helps to explain the current asthma epidemic and suggests a new avenue for asthma prevention and treatment.

Dr Camargo works clinically as an emergency physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. He chairs the Steering Committee of the Emergency Medicine Network (EMNet), a clinical research network involving >140 North American emergency departments. He founded the network in 1996 and, over the past seven years, the group has completed numerous observational studies and randomized trials. Most of these studies focus on respiratory emergencies and public health issues. As Director of the EMNet Coordinating Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, he is actively involved in all of these multicenter projects.

Dr Camargo is president of the American College of Epidemiology. He also serves as a member of several national committees related to asthma/COPD, emergency medicine, and public health.

DrPH, 1996, Harvard School of Public Health
MD, 1990, UC San Francisco
MPH, 1989, UC Berkeley
BA, 1983, Stanford University