Leadership
Jerome E. Groopman, MD
Chief, Division of Experimental Medicine
Dr. Groopman holds the Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School and is Chief of Experimental Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He received his B.A. from Columbia College summa cum laude and his M.D. from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York where he was elected to AOA. He served his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Following that, his specialty fellowships in hematology and oncology were performed at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Children's Hospital/Sidney Farber Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School in Boston. Dr. Groopman was Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the FDA for Biological Response Modifiers, and was a member of the Food and Drug Administration's Senior Biomedical Service Credentials Committee. He serves on many scientific editorial boards and has published more than 150 scientific articles. In 2000, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Groopman's research has focused on blood development, cancer and AIDS. He did seminal work on identifying growth factors which may restore the depressed immune systems of AIDS patients and on treatment for AIDS-related neoplasms, particularly Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphoma. He performed the first clinical trials utilizing recombinant colony stimulating factors and erythropoietin to augment blood cell production in immunodeficient HIV-infected patients. In addition, he has been a major participant in the development of many AIDS-related therapies including AZT, ddI, ddC, d4T, 3TC and the protease inhibitors. Currently, his basic laboratory research involves understanding how blood and vascular cells grow, communicate, and migrate. He also is studying how viruses cause immune deficiency and cancer, and how infection with hepatitis C virus results in liver injury. Read more about Dr. Groopman's research
Dr. Groopman writes regularly about biology and medicine for lay audiences. He has authored numerous editorials on policy issues in The New Yorker, The New Republic, The Washington Post and The New York Times. His first popular book, "The Measure of Our Days," published in October, 1997 by Viking Penguin, explores the spiritual lives of patients with serious illness, and the opportunities for fulfillment they sometimes find. This was the basis for the ABC Television series "Gideon's Crossing." In 1998, he became a staff writer in medicine and biology at The New Yorker magazine. His next book, entitled "Second Opinions," addressed the complexity of navigating the uncertain world of medical diagnosis and treatment, and was published in February 2000. "The Anatomy of Hope," his third book, was released in 2004 and was a New York Times bestseller. "How Doctors Think," published in 2007 by Houghton Mifflin, explores the forces and thought processes behind the decisions doctors make. Dr. Groopman pinpoints why doctors succeed and why they err. Co-authored with his spouse Dr. Pamela Hartzband , " Your Medical Mind " was published in 2011 by Penguin Press. Making the right medical choices is harder than ever. Whether we're deciding to take a cholesterol drug or choosing a cancer treatment, we are overwhelmed by information from all sides: our doctors recommendations, dissenting expert opinions, confusing statistics, conflicting media reports, the advice of friends, claims on the Internet, and a never ending stream of drug company ads. "Your Medical Mind" shows us how to chart a clear path through this sea of confusion. Read more about Dr. Groopman's books and articles