Dr. Xavier Pi-Sunyer is an endocrinologist and Professor of Medicine at Columbia University and Co-Director of the Nutritional Obesity Research Center. He was born in Spain, but spent his formative years France, Mexico, and the US. He studied medicine at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons (Class of 1959) and took his internship/residency at the former St. Luke’s Hospital. He was introduced to endocrinology at an exchange program at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, England. Returning to the US, Pi-Sunyer pursued a degree in public health at Harvard University as well as a fellowship in endocrinology at Boston City Hospital. He was invited to return to St. Luke’s to help establish the Endocrine Division and to establish research laboratories for nutrition and metabolic research where the team carried out various grant-funded research projects, the most significant of which uncovered the hormone leptin. Dr. Pi-Sunyer left St. Luke’s Hospital Center in 2015 for the above mentioned positions, and as of 2017 was working on two large studies concerning diabetes prevention and heart disease prevention in diabetic patients.
Dr. Norma Braun (neé Wang Mai Tsen) was born in Shanghai, China during the third Japanese invasion, before the World War II. Prior to the war her family was well off and very well educated. Both her grandfather and father spent time in American universities. Norma, however did not attend school until age 10, because of the war. In 1949, she, her mother and siblings relocated to Philadelphia. Norma, who desired to be a doctor from a young age, started medical school at Temple University but transferred to Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons (Class of 1963) after being offered a scholarship. She completed her internship and residency at Bellevue Hospital and began working at St. Luke’s Hospital in 1982, as a cardio-pulmonary fellow under A. Loomis Bell, MD, who ran the cardiopulmonary laboratory. Eventually she narrowed her specialty to pulmonary medicine, and continues to work in that area at St. Luke’s, now Mount Sinai Morningside.
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At the time of this interview, Dr. Xavier Pi-Sunyer was a Professor of Medicine at Columbia University and Co-Director of the Nutritional Obesity Research Center. Dr. Pi-Sunyer discusses his formative years in Spain, France, Mexico, and finally the US. He highlights his internship/residency at the former St. Luke’s Hospital; introduction to endocrinology at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, England, continued training in public health at Harvard University and his return to St. Luke’s, via Nigeria and Boston, where he became acquainted with Dr. Theodore Van Itallie. Dr. Van Itallie drew him back to New York to help establish the Endocrine Division and research laboratories for nutrition and metabolic research where the team carried out various grant-funded research projects. The most significant the discovery out of which is the hormone leptin. Dr. Pi-Sunyer also provides information on his own family, hobbies and interests, and comments on the mergers of St. Luke’s with Roosevelt Hospital and later the Continuum Health Partners.
Transcript is available.
DVD was a DVD-R containing MP4 file; copied to Azure 11/13/2017. Video sent to MediaScribe for transcription 11/20/2017.
Michala Biondi, Associate Archivist, cataloged January 2023
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