Jeffrey M. Drazen, M.D., joined the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) as editor-in-chief in July of 2000. At NEJM, Dr. Drazen’s responsibilities include oversight of all editorial content and policies. His editorial background includes service as an associate editor or editorial board member for the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, and the American Journal of Medicine.
A specialist in pulmonology, Dr. Drazen maintains an active research program. Dr. Drazen has published hundreds of articles on topics such as lung physiology and the mechanisms involved in asthma. In 1999, he delivered the Amberson Lecture, the major research address at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society. In 2000, he received the Chadwick Medal from the Massachusetts Thoracic Society for his contributions to the study of lung disease.
Dr. Drazen is the Distinguished Parker B. Francis Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, professor of physiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, senior physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and adjunct professor of medicine at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. In 2003, he was elected as a member of the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Drazen has served on numerous committees for the National Institutes of Health, including the Respiratory and Applied Physiology Study Section; the Lung Biology and Pathology Study Section; the Pulmonary Disease Advisory Council; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Advisory Council; the Public Access Working Group; and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Division of Lung Disease Executive Planning Committee. He has also served on the Veterans’ Administration National Research Advisory Committee. He currently serves on the Global Initiative for Asthma Science Committee, the World Health Organization’s Scientific Advisory Group on Clinical Trials Registration, and co-chairs the Institute of Medicine’s Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation.
Dr. Drazen earned his bachelor’s degree and graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed his internship and residency at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. Dr. Drazen has received honorary degrees from the University of Ferrara, Italy, and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
A native of Missouri, Dr. Drazen lives with his wife in Winchester, Massachusetts. They are the parents of two grown sons.