Joseph LaDou (born August 19, 1938; died November 10, 2023),[1][2] was an occupational and environmental medicine physician who practiced in Silicon Valley during the early years of the semiconductor and computer industries. In 1983, he was appointed the first Chief of the University of California, San Francisco (MC) Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,[2] and was co-director of the residency program there from 1982-1991.[citation needed] LaDou was founding editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, serving in that capacity from 1992 to 2005.[3] [4] During the same years, LaDou was director of UCSF's International Center for Occupational Medicine.[5]
From 1983 to 2002, in addition to his other responsibilities, LaDou was the director to "Advances in Occupational and Environmental Medicine", a continuing medical education course that trained more than 3,000 physicians (500 from developing countries) in occupational medicine.
LaDou's study of the global migration of hazardous industries[citation needed] led to efforts to control occupational and environmental hazards.[citation needed] As one example, his study of asbestos in developing countries (LaDou, 2004) led to a call for an international ban on asbestos mining and use in commercial products.[5] Following retirement, LaDou was Professor Emeritus of Medicine at UCSF.[2]
Among LaDou's notable publications: