James R. Gavin, M.D.

James R. Gavin III, MD, PhD is clinical professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana.  He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer of Healing Our Village, Inc.  Prior to this, he served as president and chief executive officer of MicroIslet, Inc., San Diego, California, from January 2006 to July, 2007, and was president of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta from 2002-2004. He served as senior scientific officer at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) from 1991 to 2002 and as director of the HHMI–National Institutes of Health Research Scholars Program from 2000 to 2002. Before joining the senior staff of HHMI, Dr Gavin was professor and chief of the Diabetes Section, acting chief of the Section on Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Hypertension, and William K. Warren Professor for Diabetes Studies at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He previously served as an associate professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr Gavin served as a lieutenant commander in the US Public Health Service from 1971 to 1973 and continues to serve as a reserve officer.

 

Dr Gavin belongs to a number of organizations, including the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), the Endocrine Society, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the American Association of Physicians, the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, the Sigma Pi Phi Leadership Fraternity, and the Downtown Atlanta Rotary Club. He is a past president of the ADA and was voted Clinician of the Year in Diabetes by the ADA in 1991. He has served on many advisory boards and on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Physiology and the American Journal of Medical Sciences. He is on the board of trustees for Emory University, Livingstone College, and is Trustee Emeritus for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In addition, he is national program director of the Harold Amos Faculty Development Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is a member of the National Advisory Board for the Institute of Medicine’s Health Policy Fellows Program. He is also Chairman Emeritus of the National Diabetes Education Program and a past member of the Board of Scientific Councilors for the Intramural Research Program of NIDDK at the NIH. He also serves as chairman of the Data Safety Monitoring Board for the VA Cooperative Diabetes Study (VADT).

Dr Gavin has published more than 220 articles and abstracts in such publications as Science, Journal of Applied Physiology, Diabetes, and the American Journal of Physiology. He is coauthor of two books: Healing Our Village: A Self-Care Guide for Diabetes Control (written with L. Coleman) and Dr. Gavin’s Health Guide for African Americans (written with S. Landrum). He hosted the “PowerPoint” health talk-radio shows for public radio station WCLK, 91.9 FM in Atlanta from 2005-2006. Among the many honors Dr Gavin has received is the Daniel Hale Williams Award, the E.E. Just Award, the Herbert Nickens Award, the Daniel Savage Memorial Award, the Emory University Medal for Distinguished Achievement, the Banting Medal for Distinguished Service from the ADA, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Duke University School of Medicine, the F.C. Greenwood Award from the RCMI of NCRR at NIH, the Bernado Houssay Award from the National Minority Quality Forum and the Congressional Black Caucus, and the Internist of the Year Award from the National Medical Association. He was a recipient of the 2009 Living Legend in Diabetes Award from the American Association of Diabetes Educators. He is also a 2010 recipient of the Public Policy Award from the American Diabetes Association for contributions to advocacy on behalf of persons with diabetes.

Dr Gavin graduated from Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, with a degree in chemistry. He earned his PhD in biochemistry from Emory University and his MD degree from Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina. He completed his internship, residency and clinical fellowship training at Barnes Hospital of Washington University in St. Louis. He and his wife, Dr. Annie Gavin, are the parents of three adult sons.