Drs. Sara and Jack Gorman stopped by the Bunker to talk about one of the most important issues we’re facing: science deniers. The father and daughter doctor combo just released a revised edition of their book Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us. And that co-founded a company, Critica, that is working to advance that mission.
And uncharacteristically for Brad, he stayed entirely focused on that topic. So take a deep breath because these two brought a whole lot of smart to the Jam.
About Sara Gorman
Sara Gorman is a public health specialist and author who has written extensively about mental health, global health, and the intersection of public health and psychology, among other topics. Sara’s book, Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us, published by Oxford University Press in 2016, explores the psychology behind irrational health beliefs and decisions.
She is currently working on a second edition of the book covering the political war on science in the U.S. and the emergence of misinformation in the face of health crises such as COVID-19. Sara’s work has appeared or been reviewed in TIME, The New Yorker, Science, Psychology Today, The Atlantic, BBC, NPR, and Quartz. Sara holds a PhD from Harvard and an MPH from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
About Jack Gorman
Jack M. Gorman, M.D. co-founded Critica Inc, a non-profit corporation, with his daughter, Dr. Sara Gorman, in 2016 and is its President. Critica is devoted to fighting science denial and promoting the acceptance of science in health and safety decision-making.
Dr. Gorman also founded Franklin Behavioral Healthcare Consultants in 2010. He is currently CEO and Chief Scientific Officer. Franklin Behavioral Healthcare Consultants provides expert guidance to biotech companies and to health care organizations in order to improve the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of mental health care.
Before founding Franklin Behavioral Healthcare Consultants, Dr. Gorman was Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice-President of both Comprehensive NeuroScience Inc and Care Management Technologies Inc. In those positions, he used his two decades of experience in neuroscience, psychiatry, and psychopharmacology to help develop new programs in behavioral health care management and CNS drug development.
Dr. Gorman was a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, received his medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and received residency and fellowship training in the Department of Psychiatry of Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute program. He was on the faculty of Columbia University from 1981 to 2002, becoming Lieber Professor, Vice-chair for Research, Professor of Psychiatry and Radiology, and Director of the Lieber Center for Schizophrenia Research. He then became Klingenstein Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Professor of Neuroscience of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Gorman authored or co-authored more than 400 scientific articles and chapters, and was continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for his research from 1981 until 2006. He won numerous awards for his research and service to psychiatry from organizations like the American Psychiatric Association, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and Society for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is one of the most frequently cited authors in the psychiatry and neuroscience literatures.
Dr. Gorman is co-editor of the textbooks Treatments that Work, now in its fourth edition, and Comprehensive Textbook of AIDS Psychiatry, now in its second edition, and author of the popular book The Essential Guide to Psychiatric Drugs, which appeared in its fourth edition in 2007. With his daughter, Dr. Sara Gorman, he wrote Denying To the Grave, on the reasons behind denial of scientific medical evidence, published by Oxford University Press in 2016 and which will appear in a revised edition in June 2021. It has been discussed in media throughout the world.
Dr. Gorman’s expertise is in behavioral healthcare management and improvement, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy and clinical and basic neuroscience. His book, Neuroscience at the Intersection of Mind and Brain, was published in 2018.
Dr. Gorman is on the board of directors of several philanthropic organizations, including UJA-Federation NY, GreenFaith, and the NYC Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
