As many know, this is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. I’m someone who has spent most of my career working to understand and treat colorectal cancer, so for me it takes on special meaning. But the significance runs deeper than that, and is particularly personal, because my family has experienced a long history of colorectal cancer Read more
Health
While many of us have been aware, or have recently learned, of the ethical horrors of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment and the gynecological experiments conducted on enslaved women by J. Marion Sims, these were not the first instances that the scientific and medical communities exploited the bodies of Black Americans to build modern medicine. Western medicine Read more
EDITORS’ NOTE: This year Einstein joined with organizations nationwide in taking part in a day of service honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Observed on the third Monday each year by the federal government, the day of service was established to honor Dr. King’s legacy and is observed as a “day on, not a day Read more
On January 6, the nation witnessed the largest assault on American democracy in contemporary history. Sitting in clinic at the time, I was fixated on my phone’s screen, staring at images of a noose, Confederate flags, and swastikas in front of and inside the Capitol. My angst soon gave way to righteous indignation. These symbols Read more
Several months ago, as an infectious-diseases specialist and a career-long vaccine enthusiast, I recommended caution in seeking early vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. I write now, with much more information at hand, to reverse that stance. I suggest that all but the very few who might have contraindications (primarily severe allergies that are anaphylactic in Read more
As a public health–oriented academic physician, I have found myself queried by friends and family more than usual during the eight months in which COVID-19 has upended our lives. It makes sense that they might expect me to be better positioned to know what’s true and what’s not, as we’ve all slogged through daily information Read more
