Marianne Legato
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Marianne J. Legato, MD, FACP | |
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Born | 1935 (age 88–89) New York, U.S. |
Occupation | Physician, author, lecturer, |
Notable awards | Martha Lyon Slater Fellowship (1965-1968) J. Murray Steele Award (1971) Woman in Science Award|American Medical Women's Association (2002) Research Career Development Award, National Institutes of Health (1972-1977) |
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Marianne J. Legato (born 1935) is an American
Legato is the founder and director of the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at
Legato is the founder and editor of The Journal of Gender-Specific Medicine and Gender Medicine. She is a strong advocate for including women in
Legato has been invited as a speaker at numerous lectures and conferences worldwide. She has appeared on various television and radio programs, including ABC's
Childhood and early career
Marianne J. Legato was born in 1935 in New York. During her childhood, she accompanied her father, who was a general practitioner, on his visits to patients' homes and hospitals. From a very young age, she aspired to pursue a career in medicine. Despite her father's initial concerns for her well-being, she decided to attend medical school. She enrolled at New York University College of Medicine, her father's alma mater, without familial support. Legato attributes her success during medical school and beyond to the mentorship she received from José Ferrer and M. Irené Ferrer, who were siblings of Mel Ferrer and whom she met at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. M. Irené Ferrer went so far as to personally speak with the dean of New York University College of Medicine to facilitate Legato's education there, even covering her tuition expenses. Legato has two children, Christiana and Justin, who grew up as part of the extended Ferrer family and affectionately referred to her as "gran".[citation needed]
Professional career
Upon completing her medical degree in 1962, Legato pursued an internship and junior residency at
Since 1969, Legato has served as an attending physician at
As the director of the Partnership, Legato has fostered collaboration between academic medicine and the private sector to conduct research on gender differences. Her objective is to ensure the inclusion of women in clinical trials relevant to the health of both genders and to promote the study of biological distinctions between men and women, as well as how gender influences disease diagnosis and treatment, ultimately benefiting all patients. The Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine is actively raising funds for the establishment of the M. Irené Ferrer Professorship in Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University.[citation needed]
The Foundation for Gender-Specific Medicine
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In the early 1990s, the active involvement of women in
Mission
The Foundation for Gender-Specific Medicine is dedicated to utilizing the study of gender to advance the development of new sciences and enhance healthcare for all patients. The foundation focuses on investigating the impact of biological sex and gender on normal human functioning and the experience of disease.
Purpose
- Support original scientific research in gender-specific medicine. Annually, the foundation awards fellowships to young faculty members who are in the early stages of their investigative careers, aiming to cultivate their interest in gender-specific medicine.
- Develop evidence-based protocols for physician guidance. The foundation is actively working on compiling a substantial body of evidence-based criteria to inform optimal gender-specific treatment across various medical specialties. They have completed recommendations for gender-specific care of diabetics, and efforts are underway to address cardiovascular disease.
- Educate the general public and the scientific and medical community. Recognizing that science is interconnected with society, the foundation places significant emphasis on education. It views education as an integral component of its mission, facilitating open communication between patients and the medical community. Rather than solely providing information, the foundation encourages an interactive dialogue.
Recognition
Legato has received various professional accolades for her contributions, including the Martha Lyon Slater Fellowship from 1965 to 1968 and the J. Murray Steele Award in 1971, both granted by the
In 1992, Legato received the American Heart Association's Blakeslee Award for her book titled The Female Heart: The Truth About Women and Heart Disease, published by Simon & Schuster. Her film, Shattering the Myths: Women and Heart Disease, earned her a first prize, known as a "Freddy", in the Women's Health category at the 1995 International Health and Medical Film Festival.
She was recognized as an "American Health Hero" by American Health for Women in 1997 and was honored with the Women's Medical Society of New York's annual Woman in Science Award in the same year.
In 2002, she received the Woman in Science Award from the American Medical Women's Association. She was featured in the June 1994 issue of Mirabella magazine's "1,000 Women for the 1990s" and was included in the New York Times list of accomplished healthcare professionals in the field of women's health in June 1997.
In 2004, Legato was one of the 300 American physicians featured in the
In recognition of her work on the differences between men and women, Legato was granted an honorary PhD from the University of Panama in 2015.
In 2018, she was honored with a PROSE Award from the Association of American Publishers for the best book on clinical medicine for Principles of Gender-Specific Medicine: Gender in the Genomic Era (Third Edition). Her book, The Plasticity of Sex: The Molecular Biology and Clinical Features of Genomic Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Behavior, won a PROSE Award in the Biomedicine category in 2021.
References
- PMC 7152822.
- ^ "SAGE Publishing and The Foundation for Gender-Specific Medicine publish Gender and the Genome". Sage. July 20, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
- ^ "Ladiesï¾' Home Journal Establishes The Inaugural Dr. Marianne J. Legato Gender-Specific Medicine Award". Columbia University Irving Medical Center. August 2, 2006. Retrieved October 27, 2019.