Dr. JoAnn Manson, Pioneer in Women’s Health, Preventive Medicine

A healthy balance in life, both for her patients and herself

For most of JoAnn Manson, MD, DrPH, MACP’s long and fruitful career in medicine, she has worked to help her patients and the general public reduce their risks of getting chronic diseases, dispensing advice on healthy lifestyles as well as medications and nutrition. 

As an epidemiologist, endocrinologist, and principal investigator, her work in preventive medicine and women’s health has had a major impact on approaches to managing health conditions worldwide — from type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease to menopause. 

For her decades of devotion in promoting public health and her groundbreaking research, Dr. Manson will receive the Alma Dea Morani Renaissance Woman Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. 

Dr. Manson’s road to a career in medicine began in high school. Her high school chemistry teacher became an important mentor, encouraging her to pursue the sciences. She was also inspired by her mother, who was a social worker. Her mother’s death from ovarian cancer at the start of her medical training motivated her to pursue women’s health, seeing so many gaps in knowledge in the field. 

Dr. Manson  also immersed herself in the visual arts, including painting and sculpting. As a pre-med student at Harvard College, she reviewed dance and theater performances for one of the school newspapers. That well-rounded approach is reflected in her devotion to achieving balance between her professional pursuits and personal life.

“Over the years, my highest priority has been my family and my patients. My husband, Chris, has been a rock for me and we are very supportive of each other,” she says. “We have three children, Jenn, Jeffrey, and Joshua, who are the joys of our lives and our greatest motivation.”

A professor at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Manson is chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and first became an advocate for exercise, healthy eating, and other lifestyle factors during her fellowship in endocrinology.

“Seeing so many patients with diabetes, who already had cardiovascular disease and other health issues, I became interested in preventive medicine and what could be done to prevent diabetes and related complications,” she says.

She is co-author of The 30-Minute Fitness Solution: A Four-Step Plan for Women of All Ages, which explains the preventive health benefits of physical activity and provides a practical approach to getting started and staying motivated.  She has also authored several other books and more than 1200 scientific publications.

“You want lifestyle and behavioral messages that are pragmatic, feasible, and don’t intimidate people,” Dr. Manson says. “You want to let people know that this is doable, rather than daunting.”

To that end, she encourages patients to take charge of their health and helps to connect them with nutritionists and lifestyle coaches. She also is an advocate for societal and policy changes, such as safer neighborhoods where people can walk and also have access to healthy foods.

Among her pioneering work is research assessing the risks and benefits of menopausal hormone therapy, especially clarifying how the benefit: risk ratio may vary by a woman’s age and be more favorable in early than later menopause. She was one of the lead investigators on the Women’s Health Initiative, a large-scale, nationwide randomized clinical trial of hormone therapy. 

Until the early 1990s, most clinical trials focused on men — and the findings were assumed to apply to both sexes. Dr. Manson’s research helped to establish that men and women may react differently to certain diseases and treatments; federal regulations now mandate the inclusion of women in all stages and types of research. 

Dr. Manson is also a lead investigator on the Vitamin D and Omega 3 trial (VITAL), with more than 25,000 participants nationwide (51% of which are women). The trial assessed whether taking those supplements reduced the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, and stroke in people without a prior history of these illnesses. 

“I’m inspired by my patients and by the participants in clinical trials and other research studies — these volunteers give a tremendous gift to science and public health,” she says.

The Alma Dea Morani Award recognizes an outstanding contemporary pioneer in medicine or science who has demonstrated professional excellence and a thirst for knowledge and service beyond her medical practice or scientific endeavors. Dr. Manson will receive the 23rd award.

She will accept her award at a virtual event co-hosted by the New York Academy of Medicine on October 27, 2022.

“I’m honored and humbled to be listed among the remarkable trailblazers to receive this honor,” she says.