Sanjay Gupta

This article is about the American neurosurgeon and media correspondent. For other uses, see Sanjay Gupta (disambiguation).
Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Gupta, circa 2011
Born (1969-10-23) October 23, 1969
Novi, Michigan, United States[1]
Residence Atlanta, Georgia
Nationality American
Ethnicity Indian-American
Alma mater University of Michigan (B.S.) (M.D.)
Occupation Journalist and neurosurgeon
Spouse(s) Rebecca Olson Gupta
Children 3

Sanjay Gupta (/ˈsɑːndʒeɪ ˈɡuːptə/ SAHN-jay GOOP-tə; born October 23, 1969) is an American neurosurgeon and media reporter. He serves as associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia and as assistant professor of neurosurgery at the Emory University School of Medicine.

A media personality on health-related issues, he is best known as CNN's multiple Emmy Award-winning 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 led to him winning 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] His latest book, Monday Mornings, a novel, was released in March 2012 and became an instant New York Times bestseller. It was adapted as a 2013 television series with David E. Kelley and Gupta serving as executive producers.

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]

Early life and education

In the 1960s, Gupta's parents, Subhash and Damyanti Gupta, moved from India to Novi, Michigan to work as engineers for Ford Motor Company.[6][7] Gupta and his younger brother Suneel graduated from Novi High School, and Gupta went on to receive his Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical sciences at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and his M.D. degree from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1993. He was part of Inteflex, a since discontinued accelerated medical education program that accepted medical students directly from high school.

As an undergraduate, Gupta worked as an orientation leader for the freshman orientation program, and was a member of the Men's Glee Club. He also served as president of the Indian American Students Association (IASA), which is now the second largest student organization at the university.[8]

Gupta completed his residency in neurological surgery within the University of Michigan Health System, in 2000, followed by a fellowship at the Semmes Murphy Clinic, in Memphis, Tennessee.[9]

Career

Medical practice

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,[10][11] brain tumors, and spinal cord abnormalities.[12][13] He is licensed to practice medicine in New York, Michigan, Georgia and South Carolina.[14]

Gupta (third from left) with Henri Ford (second from left) and two U.S. Navy doctors operating on a 12-year-old girl aboard the USS Carl Vinson.[15]

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, a 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.[16][17] Ford later wrote that Gupta "proved to be a competent neurosurgeon".[18]

Broadcast journalism

In 2003, Gupta traveled to Iraq to cover the medical aspects of the invasion of Iraq. While in Iraq, Gupta performed emergency surgery on both US soldiers and Iraqi civilians.[19] Gupta was embedded with a Navy medical unit at the time, specifically a group of doctors called the "Devil Docs", who supported the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.[20] 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.[19]

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,[21] The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,[22] The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,[23] Real Time with Bill Maher and the Oprah Winfrey Show.[24] Winfrey referred to Gupta as CNN's hero in January 2010.[25]

In a 2013 editorial, Gupta announced that in the process of working on a documentary about marijuana he had changed his mind about the drug's risks and benefits. Gupta had previously criticized laws that allowed patient access to medical marijuana, but he reversed his stance, saying, "I am here to apologize," and, "We have been terribly and systematically misled for nearly 70 years in the United States, and I apologize for my own role in that."[26] The third part of his 3-hour documentary, "Weed 3: The Marijuana Revolution", was released in April 2015.[27]

Surgeon General candidate

On January 6, 2009, CNN announced that Gupta had been considered for the position of Surgeon General by President Barack Obama.[28]

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.[29]

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.[30]

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.[31] 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.[32] 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."[33] 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.[34] 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."[35] In March 2009 Gupta withdrew his name from consideration for the post, citing his family and his career.[4]

Controversy

Criticism of reporting

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,[36] 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".[37]

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.[38]

Others have criticized Gupta's promotion of Merck's cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil, without disclosing the financial arrangements between CNN and Merck.[39]

Gary Schwitzer, professor of health journalism at the University of Minnesota School of Journalism, has also criticized Gupta's reporting.[40][41]

Michael Moore dispute

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".[42]

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.[43] 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.[44] 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 responding point-by-point to Moore's response, contending that comparison of data from different sources in different years was in effect "cherry picking" results, at the cost of statistical accuracy.

Honors

On April 28, 2012, Gupta was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree for his accomplishments in the medical field. Gupta also gave the commencement address at the spring commencement ceremony held in the University of Michigan Stadium.[45]

Personal life

Gupta is married to Rebecca Olson, a family law attorney. They were married in 2004 in a Hindu wedding ceremony. They live in Atlanta[46] and have three daughters.[47][48]

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Kurtz, Howard (January 6, 2009). "Obama Wants Journalist Gupta for Surgeon General". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  2. 1 2 "CNN Programs: Anchors/Reporters: Sanjay Gupta". CNN.
  3. ↑ "CNN Medical Correspondent to Serve as Pritzker Commencement Speaker". Pritzker School of Medicine. May 23, 2007.
  4. 1 2 "Gupta Opts Out of Surgeon General Consideration". CNN. March 5, 2009. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Forbes 10 Most Influential Celebrities". Forbes. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  6. ↑ Crenshaw, Holly. "Emory Magazine: Autumn 2009: Being Dr. Gupta". Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  7. ↑ Steinberg, Stephanie. "Alum Gupta nominated for surgeon general post." The Michigan Daily. Wednesday January 14, 2009. p. 1A. Retrieved from Google News (1 of 16) on October 28, 2013. "[...]School in 1993. He also grew up in nearby Novi, Mich., and attended Novi High School."
  8. ↑ http://www.umiasa.org/about-us/iasa-history/1990-1991/
  9. ↑ "CNN correspondent Sanjay Gupta, M.D., to give address at Medical School commencement", University of Michigan, May 1, 2009.
  10. ↑ Foley, Kevin T.; Gupta, Sanjay K.; Justis, Jeff R.; Sherman, Michael C. (April 2001). "Percutaneous Pedicle Screw Fixation of the Lumbar Spine" (PDF). Neurosurgical Focus (American Association of Neurological Surgeons) 10 (4): E10. doi:10.3171/foc.2001.10.4.11. ISSN 1092-0684. PMID 16732626. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
  11. ↑ Foley, Kevin T.; Sanjay K., SK (July 2002). "Percutaneous pedicle screw fixation of the lumbar spine: preliminary clinical results" (PDF). Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine (American Association of Neurological Surgeons) 97 (1): 7–12. doi:10.3171/spi.2002.97.1.0007. ISSN 1547-5654. PMID 12120655. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 25, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
  12. ↑ Tumialán, Luis M.; Walkup, Raymond R.; Gupta, Sanjay K. (May 2008). "Minimally Invasive Retrieval of a Bullet from the L5‑S1 Neural Foramina after Transperitoneal Gunshot Wound: Technical Report". The Spine Journal (Elsevier) 9 (2): 169–173. doi:10.1016/j.spinee.2008.03.008. ISSN 1529-9430. PMID 18468958. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
  13. ↑ Tumialán, Luis M.; Lin, Franklin; Gupta, Sanjay K. (August 2006). "Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis Causing Serratia Marcescens and Proteus Mirabilis Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Infection. Case Report" (PDF). Journal of Neurosurgery (American Association of Neurological Surgeons) 105 (2): 320–324. doi:10.3171/jns.2006.105.2.320. ISSN 0022-3085. PMID 17219841. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
  14. ↑ "NYS Professions – Online Verifications". www.op.nysed.gov. July 20, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Haiti struggles with death and destruction after catastrophic earthquake". LIFE. January 18, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  16. ↑ Thompson, Jason (January 18, 2010). "Sanjay Gupta assists Vinson medical team". US Navy. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  17. ↑ Agence France-Presse (January 20, 2011). "TV neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta saves girl". The Australian. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  18. ↑ Ford, Henri R. (2011). "Answering the call to action: response to the Haiti earthquake of January 12, 2010". Surgical Infections 12 (2): 89–98. doi:10.1089/sur.2011.9920. PMID 21453040. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  19. 1 2 Gupta, Sanjay (May 22, 2007). "Gupta: Saving Lives on the Front Lines". CNN. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  20. ↑ Kugel, Allison (March 12, 2012). "CNN's Sanjay Gupta: An Intimate Interview with The World's Doctor". PR.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  21. ↑ "Dr. Sanjay Gupta on The Late Show with David Letterman". Zimbio. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  22. ↑ "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson: Rose McGowan/Dr. Sanjay Gupta/Charlie Daniels Episode Summary". TV.com. May 10, 2005. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  23. ↑ "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Dr. Sanjay Gupta Episode Summary". TV.com. April 28, 2003. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Dr. Sanjay Gupta's Patient Checklist". Oprah.com. January 15, 2006. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  25. ↑ "Oprah Winfrey Calls Sanjay Gupta 'CNN’s hero'", dimewars.com, January 19, 2010.
  26. ↑ Gupta, Sanjay (8 August 2013). "Why I changed my mind on weed". CNN. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  27. ↑ "Weed 3: Marijuana Revolution" CNN.com
  28. ↑ "Sources: CNN's Gupta Approached for Surgeon General". CNN. January 6, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2009. The Obama transition team approached Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, about becoming U.S. surgeon general, according to sources inside the transition and at CNN.
  29. ↑ Neergaard, Lauran (January 7, 2009). "CNN: Gupta Approached about Surgeon General Post dead link". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Retrieved January 8, 2009. The pair raised questions about drug-company sponsorship of some programs Gupta hosted [...] and [...] urged careful examination of any potential conflicts of interest.
  30. ↑ Hooper, Molly K. (January 8, 2009). "Conyers's Opposition to Gupta Is Connected to Michael Moore". The Hill.
  31. ↑ Hamsher, Jane (January 9, 2009). "In Defense of the Sanjay Gupta Appointment". www.alternet.org. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
  32. ↑ Wright, Donna (January 13, 2009). "Gupta Good Choice for Surgeon General". The Bradenton Herald. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
  33. ↑ White, Christina (January 19, 2009). "Gupta Named Top U.S. Doctor". The Emory Wheel. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
  34. ↑ Press release (January 27, 2009). "American Council on Exercise (ACE) Endorses Appointment of Dr. Sanjay Gupta as Surgeon General of the United States". PR Newswire. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
  35. ↑ SteveK (February 20, 2009). "Gupta Gets Endorsement From Controversial Former SG". TVNewser. www.mediabistro.com. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  36. ↑ "Trudy Lieberman's biography page". The Nation. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
  37. ↑ Lieberman, Trudy (October 27, 2008). "Campaign Desk, Paging Dr. Gupta, How CNN's Doc Misdiagnosed McCain's Health Plan", Columbia Journalism Review.
  38. ↑ Aldhous, Peter (January 8, 2009). "Should a TV News Doctor be US Surgeon General?" Blog of New Scientist.
  39. ↑ Martens, Pam (July 20, 2007). "CNN's Sanjay Gupta, Laura Bush and the Marketing of Merck's Gardasil: Doctoring the News", CounterPunch.
  40. ↑ CNN's one-sided view of mammography controversy, Schwitzer health news blog, April 8, 2007.
  41. ↑ "Sanjay Gupta", at Schwitzer health news blog.
  42. ↑ "CNN's Dr. Gupta looks at 'Sicko' and Some Facts Are Incorrect", The Situation Room, CNN. Aired July 9, 2007 – 19:00 ET.
  43. ↑ "'SiCKO' Truth Squad Sets CNN Straight". Michael Moore. July 10, 2007. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
  44. ↑ "Michael Moore, Dr. Gupta Square Off over 'Sicko'". CNN. July 10, 2007.
  45. ↑ "Sanjay Gupta to U-M grads: Let values, not money, dictate pursuits"
  46. ↑ "The Setting – Sanjay Gupta & Rebecca Olson". InStyle. March 17, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  47. ↑ Bell, Debra (January 9, 2009). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Sanjay Gupta". US News and World Report. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  48. ↑ "Dr. Sanjay Gupta: 25 Things You Don't Know About Me". US Weekly. February 29, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2015.

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