The Society for Epidemiologic Research is a learned society dedicated to epidemiology. It was originally proposed in 1967 by Abraham Lilienfeld, Milton Terris, and Brian MacMahon, and was founded the following year. Their motivation in founding SER was to provide an annual meeting where junior faculty in epidemiology departments and graduate students could present their ongoing research to senior epidemiologists and receive criticism, comments, and encouragement. An additional goal was to promote the exchange of ideas between epidemiologists and statisticians.