| Sanjay Gupta | |
|---|---|
Sanjay Gupta MD |
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| Born | October 23, 1969 Novi, Michigan, United States[1] |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan Health System (Residency), University of Michigan Medical School (M.D.), University of Michigan (B.S.) |
| Occupation | Academic, journalist and neurosurgeon |
| Spouse | Rebecca Olson Gupta |
| Children | Sage Ayla Gupta, Sky Anjali Gupta, Soleil Asha Gupta |
| Parents | Subhash Gupta (father), Damyanti Gupta (mother) |
Sanjay Gupta ( /ˈsɑːndʒeɪ ˈɡuːptə/ sahn-jay goop-tə; born October 23, 1969) is an American neurosurgeon and an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
Known as a media personality on health-related issues, he is best known as CNN's chief medical correspondent, hosting the network's weekend health program Sanjay Gupta, M.D., and making frequent appearances on their American Morning, Larry King Live and Anderson Cooper 360° programs. His reports from Charity Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina helped the hospital to win a 2006 Emmy Award for "Outstanding Feature Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast". Additionally, Gupta publishes a column in Time magazine and is a special correspondent for CBS News. His books Chasing Life and Cheating Death were New York Times and national bestsellers.[2][3]
From 1997 to 1998, he served as one of fifteen White House Fellows, primarily as an advisor to Hillary Clinton. In January 2009, it was reported that Gupta was offered the position of Surgeon General of the United States in the Obama administration,[1] but he withdrew his name from consideration.[4] In January 2011, he was named "one of the 10 most influential celebrities" by Forbes magazine.[5]
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Gupta was raised in Novi, Michigan, in suburban Detroit. His parents, Subhash and Damyanti Gupta, moved from India to Michigan, along with his older brother, Yogesh Gupta, to work as engineers for the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan in the 1960s. His mother was the first female engineer to work in Ford Motor Company. He graduated from Novi High School in 1986. Gupta received his Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical sciences at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1993. He was part of Inteflex, a seven-year program combining pre-medical and medical school that accepted students directly from high school. As an undergraduate, he worked as an orientation leader for the freshman orientation program, and was a member of the Men's Glee Club. He completed his residency in neurological surgery within the University of Michigan Health System in 2000.[6]
In 2003, Gupta traveled to Iraq to cover the medical aspects of 2003 invasion of Iraq. While in Iraq, Gupta performed emergency surgery on both U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians. Gupta was embedded with a Navy medical unit at the time. A Marine named Jesus Vidana suffered a severe head injury, and the Marines asked for Gupta's assistance because of his background in neurosurgery. Vidana survived and was sent back to the United States for rehabilitation.[7]
Gupta was named one of the Sexiest Men of 2003 by People magazine.[2]
In December 2006, CBS News president Sean McManus negotiated a deal with CNN that would have Gupta file up to ten reports a year for the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and 60 Minutes while remaining CNN's chief medical correspondent and associate chief of neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital.
On October 14, 2007, Gupta guest-hosted a health episode of CBS News Sunday Morning as its regular host Charles Osgood was on vacation. In February 2009, Gupta hosted AC360 covering the White House Health Summit. He also guest hosted Larry King Live in October 2009. In January 2010, Gupta and Cooper led CNN's coverage of the earthquake in Haiti. Gupta has regularly appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman,[8] The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,[9] The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,[10] Real Time with Bill Maher and The Oprah Winfrey Show.[11] Winfrey referred to Gupta as CNN's hero in January 2010.[12]
On January 6, 2009, CNN announced that Gupta had been offered the position of Surgeon General by President Barack Obama.[13]
Some doctors said that his communication skills and high profile would allow him to highlight medical issues and prioritize medical reform. However, others raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest with drug companies who have sponsored his broadcasts and his lack of skepticism in weighing the costs and benefits of medical treatments.[14]
Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), wrote a letter opposing Gupta's nomination. Conyers supports a single-payer health care system, the sort that Conyers' filmmaker friend Michael Moore advocated in his documentary Sicko; Gupta has criticized Moore and the film.[15]
Others, such as liberal commentator Jane Hamsher, defended the appointment, noting that Gupta's responsibilities as a surgeon general would be not that different from those of his CNN position, and that Gupta's media presence would make him ideal for the position.[16] From the medical community, Donna Wright, of Creative Health Care Management, a regular commentator on medicine and politics, also defended the appointment on the grounds of his media presence, combined with his medical qualifications, which she viewed as an ideal combination for the post of surgeon general.[17] Likewise, Fred Sanfilippo, executive vice president for health affairs at Emory University, supported Gupta's nomination by issuing a press release saying, "He has the character, training, intelligence and communications skills needed to help the United States improve its health and health care delivery systems in the next Administration."[18] The American Council on Exercise, listed by PR Newswire as "America's leading authority on fitness and one of the largest fitness certification, education and training organizations in the world", endorsed the nomination of Gupta "because of his passion for inspiring Americans to lead healthier, more active lives." The ACE sent a letter of support to Senator Edward M. Kennedy.[19] Former surgeon general Joycelyn Elders also supported Gupta's nomination, saying "He has enough well-trained, well-qualified public health people to teach him the things he needs to do the job."[20] In March 2009 Gupta withdrew his name from consideration for the post, citing his family and his career.[4]
Gupta is married to Rebecca Olson, a family law attorney. They were married in 2004 in a Hindu wedding ceremony.[21] They have three daughters.[22]
Gupta is an Emory Healthcare general neurosurgeon at Grady Memorial Hospital and has worked on spine, trauma and 3-D-image-guided operations. He has published medical journal articles on percutaneous pedicle screw placement,[23][24] brain tumors, and spinal cord abnormalities.[25][26] He is licensed to practice medicine in New York, Michigan, Georgia and South Carolina.[27]
During his reporting in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake, Gupta received a call from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson that an earthquake victim, a 12-year-old girl, was aboard and needed a neurosurgeon. Gupta, pediatric surgeon Henri Ford, and two U.S. Navy doctors removed a piece of concrete from the girl's skull in an operation performed aboard the Vinson.[29][30] Ford later wrote that Gupta "proved to be a competent neurosurgeon."[31]
Some journalists and journalism professors specializing in health care have criticized Gupta's coverage. Trudy Lieberman, a regular Nation contributor on healthcare and director of the health and medicine reporting program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism,[32] reviewed Gupta's "ineptitude" in reporting on the McCain health plan. Lieberman criticized Gupta for relying on insurance industry statistics, and a health expert quoted by Lieberman said that Gupta's reporting “gives a gross oversimplification."[33]
Peter Aldhous criticized Gupta's "enthusiasm for many forms of medical screening – even when the scientific evidence indicates that it may not benefit patients." He and other medical journalists accuse him of a "pro-screening bias" in promoting widespread electrocardiogram and prostate cancer screening, even though medical authorities like the US Preventive Services Task Force recommend against it.[34]
Others have criticized Gupta's promotion of Merck's cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil, without disclosing the financial arrangements between CNN and Merck.[35]
Gary Schwitzer, professor of health journalism at the University of Minnesota School of Journalism, has also criticized Gupta's reporting.[36][37]
A July 9, 2007, broadcast of CNN's The Situation Room aired a fact-check segment by Gupta on Michael Moore's 2007 film Sicko in which Gupta stated that Moore had "fudged facts".[38]
Immediately following the segment, Moore was interviewed live on CNN by Wolf Blitzer. Moore said that Gupta's report was inaccurate and biased, and Moore later posted a detailed response on his website.[39] Moore accused CNN of being biased in favor of the drug industry because most of the sponsors for their medical coverage were drug companies.
On July 10, 2007, Gupta debated Moore on Larry King Live; on July 15, CNN released a statement in response to Michael Moore's rebuttal.[40] In it, they apologized for an error in their on-air report, having stated that in the film Moore reported Cuba spends $25 per person for health care when the film actually gave that number as $251. CNN attributed this to a transcription error. CNN defended the rest of Gupta's report and issued a point-by-point response to Moore's response in which CNN contended that Moore's comparison of data from different sources in different years was in effect "cherry picking" results, at the cost of statistical accuracy.
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