I'm a physician who has pioneered the science of gender-specific medicine, which is devoted to understanding the differences between the normal functioning of men and women and their unique experience of the same diseases as a result of their biological sex. I write for the general public, and urge you to learn more about sex differences from my books: Eve's Rib, Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget, and Why Men Die First. Better, longer lives for both sexes is my primary goal as a scientist and as a practicing physician.

Activities:
My favorite pastimes are spent alone or in one-on-one encounters with a carefully chosen group of wonderful significant others. Spending time with my son and daughter and a few treasured friends is an essential part of my life.

I also love playing the piano, which has always been a wonderful respite for me. My father played the violin, and one of my best experiences was playing our favorite pieces together on the few Sunday mornings he had free.

Solitary trips to New York’s wonderful museums and galleries are also a favorite. I recently spent a magical Sunday morning at an exhibit of cameos at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and another visiting JP Morgan’s study at the Morgan Library. I had a great time thinking of how Mr. Morgan locked the important bankers of his time inside that study and told them they weren’t leaving until they poured enough money into the pot to save the American economy. We could certainly use him these days!

Favorite books:
I’ve read voraciously since I was three years old. I am constantly discovering new delights: Junot Diaz is a new author I particularly enjoy. My old favorites include Death in Venice, which should be compulsory reading for every adult over the age of 40, every ten years. Anna Karenina is one of the best psychological portraits of a woman I’ve ever read; it is as fresh and relevant now as it was when Tolstoy wrote it over a hundred years ago.

Favorite movie:
The Lost Prince is one of my favorite films. It’s the story of the youngest child of Queen Mary and King George who had epilepsy and therefore was exiled from the life of the royal family. It is a magnificent portrait of an individual with stunningly beautiful personal qualities and of the nanny who loved him.

Favorite TV shows:
As president of my local insomniac society, I love watching TV. I have a whole group of favorites; The American Experience is one of the most fun for me. Like Dr. Nancy Snyderman, I also love Boston Legal. Grey’s Anatomy is very believable and reminds me of my own internship days at Bellevue Hospital. I also love the AMC series Mad Men.

Favorite Quote:
“Morning came, as it always does.” (William Steig; from his classic book, Amos and Boris. I think it’s an important reminder that night can exaggerate anxieties and worries to an unexpectedly painful degree -- but that with sunrise, things seem more manageable and the day full of ordinary activities unfolds to calm and restore us. One of my beloved patients needle pointed the quote for me, and I read it daily upon waking! If you haven’t read Amos and Boris, I recommend it to all of you.

displayname
Marianne J. Legato, M.D.

professional background
Marianne Legato, M.D., is an internationally-known academic physician, author, lecturer, and specialist in women's health. She is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University's College of Physicians & Surgeons, and the founder and director of the university's Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine. More recently she established the nonprofit Foundation for Gender Specific Medicine, Inc. This is the first collaboration between academic medicine and the private sector focused solely on gender-specific
medicine -- the science of how normal human biology differs between men and women and how the diagnosis and treatment of disease differs as a function of gender. Dr. Legato has spent her research career doing cardiovascular research on the structure and function of the cardiac cell, which is supported by the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Legato writes for both the scientific and lay communities.

Degrees:
M.D., New York University College of Medicine
Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine
Fellow, American College of Physicians
A.B., Manhattanville College

Associations:

• Professor of Clinical Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons
• Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Founder and Director, Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University and of The Foundation for Gender-Specific Medicine, Inc.
• Charter Member, Advisory Board Office of Women's Research, NIH
• Co-Chair & Co-Author, Research on Women's Health for the 21st Century Task Force
• President of the First International Congress on Gender-Specific Medicine (Berlin 2006), Honorary President of the Second International Congress on Gender-Specific Medicine (Vienna 2007)) and Honorary President of the Third International Congress on Gender-Specific Medicine (Stockholm, 2008)

Awards:

• Ladies Home Journal, Marianne J. Legato Gender-Specific Medicine Award
• Women in Health Management Presidential Award Honoree, 2006
• The Shirley Saks Women's Health Award for Distinguished Service in Gender-Specific Medicine, 2005
• Included in the National Library of Medicine's Exhibit: "Changing the Face of Medicine," a collection of 300 American women physicians who influenced the course of medicine in the United States, 2004
• New York's Best Doctors List, New York magazine, annually 1996-2008
• Outstanding Woman in Science, American Medical Women's Association, 2002
• Woman in Science, Women's Medical Association of New York City, 2002
• Heroine of Women's Health, Ladies Home Journal, 2000
• American Health Hero, American Health for Women magazine, 1997
• Woman for the Nineties, Mirabella magazine, 1994
• Research Career Development Award, National Institutes of Health, 1972-1977
• J. Murray Steele Award, American Heart Association New York Affiliate, 1971
• Four Year Senior Investigator, American Heart Association New York Affiliate, 1968-1972
• Martha Lyon Slater Fellowship, American Heart Association New York Affiliate, 1965-1968