Danielle Ofri, MD, Ph.D.

Danielle Ofri, MD, Ph.D.

Physician at Bellevue Hospital and clinical professor of medicine at New York University

Danielle Ofri, MD, Ph.D. is a primary-care internist at Bellevue Hospital and clinical professor of medicine at New York University. She is one of the foremost voices in the medical world today, shining an unflinching light on the realities of healthcare and speaking passionately about the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Ofri is editor-in-chief of Bellevue Literary Review, the first literary journal to arise from a medical setting, and her writing appears in The New Yorker, the New York TimesThe Lancet, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and the New England Journal of Medicine. Her newest book is When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error.

Dr. Ofri’s lectures to medical and general audiences are renowned for her use of dramatic stories (and avoidance of PowerPoint). Her essays have been selected by Stephen Jay Gould, Oliver Sacks, and Susan Orlean for Best American Essays (twice) and Best American Science Writing. She has received the McGovern Award from the American Medical Writers Association for “preeminent contributions to medical communication.”  She is also the recipient of the 2020 National Humanism in Medicine Medal from the Gold Foundation.

Dr. Ofri has given TED talks on “Deconstructing Perfection” and “Fear: A Necessary Emotion,” and has also performed stories for the Moth. She is featured in the upcoming documentary Why Doctors Write.