Jonathan David LaPook is an American board-certified physician in

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

and

gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- "belly", -énteron "intestine", and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, sometime ...

who is the Chief Medical Correspondent for

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

. Named the Mebane Professor of Gastroenterology in 2013, he is Professor of Medicine at

NYU Langone Medical Center NYU Langone Health is an integrated Health system, academic health system located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of the New York University Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NY ...

and has an active medical practice in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He joined

in 2006. When LaPook joined CBS News, ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...

'' reported on the hire as a trend away from professional journalists covering expert fields and a tendency toward hiring subject matter experts to do journalism.

Early life and education

LaPook was born in Mineola, N.Y., the son of Elsa (''née'' Eisenbud) and Sidney LaPook, a dentist and World War II veteran (1928–2018). He has three sisters: Judith LaPook, Nancy LaPook Diamond, and Corinne LaPook. He graduated with honors from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, receiving his M.D. in 1980. He completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in gastroenterology at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. He is married to Kate Lear, daughter of legendary TV producer Norman Lear. The couple has two sons.

Career

Medicine

In 1986, LaPook began an active practice in gastroenterology and internal medicine at Columbia. He continued to teach at Columbia University Medical Center and became Professor of Medicine. He is a published author, and is especially focused on educating the public about health issues. LaPook is the founder of the NYU Langone Empathy Project, whose goal is to improve the interaction between health professionals and patients by creating a

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curriculums or curricula ) is the totality of student experiences that occur in an educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experi ...

on video that teaches empathy to doctors, nurses, and all members of the healthcare community.

Journalism

In 2006, LaPook joined anchor Katie Couric at the "

CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featu ...

" as Medical Correspondent. In 2013, he was named Chief Medical Correspondent for CBS News, appearing regularly on

CBS Mornings ''CBS Mornings'' is an American morning television program which is broadcast on CBS. The program debuted on September 7, 2021, and airs live every weekday from 7:00a.m. to 9:00a.m., EST. It is hosted by Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil, Nate Burleson, ...

," the "

" CBS Radio, and CBS News Streaming. He has interviewed patients, healthcare providers, researchers, thought-leaders, and government officials, including President Obama twice, in an attempt to provide insight and perspective on a wide range of health and medical subjects.

Education

In 2014, LaPook founded The Empathy Project at NYU Langone Medical Center, whose premise is that a good interpersonal relationship between patient and caregiver is critical to excellent medical care. The Empathy Project seeks to promote a culture of

empathy Empathy is generally described as the ability to take on another person's perspective, to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience. There are more (sometimes conflicting) definitions of empathy that include but are ...

in medicine—to educate patients to expect and demand it, and to train healthcare providers to be more humane and effective. It will bring together leaders in medicine, technology and entertainment, and create short films that will highlight important issues between patient and medical caregiver.

Awards

LaPook has won five

Emmy awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for his coverage in 2012 of the national shortage of drugs, for team coverage in 2013 of the Boston Marathon bombings, 2019 for Sunday Morning, Outstanding Program; in 2020 for Sunday Morning, Outstanding Program and in 2021 for CBS Mornings/CBS This Morning, Outstanding Live News Program. LaPook was also named a George Foster Peabody Award finalist in 2018 for two ''60 Minutes'' investigative reports on the USA Gymnastics sexual abuse scandal. In 2024 he received two awards for CBS News: Hospitals in Peril: https://www.headlinerawards.org/2024-tv-radio/ an
New York Press Club award
. He has won two Edward R. Murrow Awards for "Best Broadcast" in 2007 and 2013. He also won a 2015 New York Press Club Award for Journalism for "Eye on

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...

" WCBS-AM News Team Special. In 2010, he was recognized in the Webby Awards for his documentary series ''Doc Dot Com''.

References

External links

Profile at CBS News
* {{DEFAULTSORT:LaPook, Jonathan American gastroenterologists American medical journalists American television reporters and correspondents CBS News people Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni Yale University alumni People from Mineola, New York 1953 births Living people Jewish American journalists Jewish American scientists 21st-century American Jews