Department of Medicine remembers Ken Brigham, MD

It is with great sadness that we announce that Ken Brigham, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine and associate vice president of the Emory/Georgia Tech Predictive Health Institute, has passed away.

Ken was an astute clinician, a distinguished scientist, and an early leader in the field of pulmonary medicine. He trained with founders in the discipline at the University of California San Francisco following his medical degree at Vanderbilt University and his residency at Johns Hopkins.

Ken rapidly established his prowess as an international leader while building the pulmonary division at Vanderbilt University and being inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI). During his tenure at Emory, he created new research collaborations and helped found the innovative Emory/Georgia Tech Predictive Health Institute under Emory’s 19^th president, James W. Wagner.

In addition to his roles in the pulmonary division and Predictive Health Institute, Ken also served as the Department of Medicine’s associate vice chair for research, the associate director for research for the Emory McKelvey Lung Transplantation Center, and the director for the School of Medicine’s Center for Translational Research in the Lung.

Outside of medicine, Ken was a prolific author of both medical and non-medical literature. His work ranged from books on the humanity of medicine, gene therapy as a medical treatment and the role of predictive medicine in the future of healthcare, to murder mysteries and short stories. His latest book, Free Dancing: Random Stories from an Accidental Life, was released earlier this year.

Please join the Department of Medicine in sending our sincere condolences to Ken’s wife, Arlene Stecenko, MD, chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy & Immunology, Cystic Fibrosis, and Sleep at Emory’s Department of Pediatrics, his family, friends, and former colleagues on this incredible loss. His contributions to Emory University and to the Department of Medicine will not be forgotten.