WALTHAM – Dr. Jeffrey M. Drazen has been honored by the Massachusetts Medical Society as the 2021 recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award, given to a member of the Society who has made lasting contributions to the practice of medicine over a lifetime
in health care delivery, patient care, education, and administration and who has made significant contributions to the goals of the Society.
Drazen, a Winchester resident, served as editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine from 2000-2019, steering the Journal through the publication of landmark studies that included articles on early peanut consumption in infants at risk for
allergy, research of trastuzumab for HER2-positive breast cancer, and the earliest research on Ebola virus disease in West Africa.
Drazen, a renowned educator and researcher and former chief of pulmonary medicine at Beth Israel and Brigham and Woman’s Hospital, is currently a senior physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Distinguished Parker B. Francis Professor of Medicine
at Harvard Medical School, professor of physiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and adjunct professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine.
“(Drazen’s) careful approach to patients and thoughtfulness as he cared for them was, and still is, an example of ‘the passionate physician,’” said Dr. Henry Dorkin, Past President of the Massachusetts Medical Society. “His impact on the quality of medical
care throughout New England, and, in reality, the medical world beyond, cannot be overstated.”
Drazen graduated from Tufts University (1968) and Harvard Medical School (1972).
The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the statewide professional association for physicians and medical students, supporting 25,000 members. We are dedicated to educating and advocating for the physicians of Massachusetts and patients locally and nationally. A leadership voice in health care, the MMS contributes physician and patient perspectives to influence health-related legislation at the state and federal levels, works in support of public health, provides expert advice on physician practice management, and addresses issues of physician well-being. Under the auspices of the NEJM Group, the MMS extends our mission globally by advancing medical knowledge from research to patient care through the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM Catalyst, and the NEJM Journal Watch family of specialty publications, and through our education products for health care professionals: NEJM Knowledge+, NEJM Resident 360, and our accredited and comprehensive continuing medical education programs.
