Who at your alma mater inspired you and why?
I was greatly inspired by Luther Brady, MD, who was my assigned advisor from the freshman year onward. Luther, head of radiation oncology, was a recognized global leader in his field, an amazing clinician and researcher, and a renaissance man. He was on the board of the Philadelphia Air Museum and many other cultural institutions in the city. He advised my travel to London during my fourth year, introduced me by letter to colleagues, and inspired me to have the international career in tuberculosis and global health that became a reality.
What's a favorite memory you have of your time at Hahnemann?
The first memory that comes to me is meeting the late artist Andrew Wyeth, when he was an inpatient at Crozer-Chester Medical Center during my medical residency. When rounding to discharge him on a beautiful Sunday morning, we asked where along the Brandywine River we might stop for lunch while on our planned canoe expedition upon getting off duty that day. He invited us to put in at his home, “the farm,” along the river, where he greeted us, and on a later visit showed me and another resident the Helga Pictures well before they went on tour to the general public.
What's one great lesson, personal or professional, you've learned?
The personal lesson that comes to mind is that the intensive study and practice of medicine requires for me almost as intensive outside interests. During my seven years in Philadelphia, I was introduced to the city’s rich musical offerings — symphony, opera, musical theater and Saturday ritual walks to Sam Goody’s to buy recordings on sale.
What's a personal or professional achievement you're particularly proud of?
Achieving full professorship at Harvard Medical School and School of Public Health and a global leadership position in my field have been my proudest accomplishments. Of course, being in global health, it is ultimately the lives saved through my work that is the real achievement.
What keeps you going when you face challenges?
The security of knowing that I am loved by my family and partner keeps me going in tough times, bolstered by my outside interests. I am now an avid late-life cabaret singer!
If you hadn't gone into your chosen profession, what else would you have liked to do?
Although it is tempting to say that I would have been a musician were I not a physician, I know that I don’t have enough talent to succeed professionally in music. My life’s work has been in the interface between airborne infection and the built environment, so I think another good place for my abilities might have been architecture. For many years I co-directed a Harvard-based postgraduate course, “Building Design and Engineering for Airborne Infection Control,” resulting in safer buildings around the world that can be attributed to lessons learned through that course.