James R. Gavin III, M.D., Ph.D., graduated from Livingstone College in Salisbury, N.C., in 1966 with a degree in chemistry and earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Emory University in 1970. In 1975, he received an M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine.

Dr. Gavin began his current position as president of the Morehouse School of Medicine on July 1, 2002. Prior to that, he was senior scientific officer at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1991-2002) and director of its National Institutes of Health Research Scholars Program (2000-2002).

Dr. Gavin has also been on the faculties of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He was a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Public Health Service from 1971-73 and continues to serve as a reserve officer.

He belongs to a number of organizations, including the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Diabetes Association, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the American Association of Physicians, the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, the Association of Black Cardiologists, Omicron Delta Kappa Honorary Society and the Sigma Pi Phi Leadership Fraternity. He is a past president of the American Diabetes Association, which voted him Clinician of the Year in 1991. He has also served on many advisory boards, editorial boards (American Journal of Physiology, American Journal of Medical Sciences) and boards of trustees (Duke University, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). He serves as chairman of the board of the Equidyne Corporation and is national program director of the Minority Medical Faculty Development Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

He has published more than 180 articles and abstracts in such publications as Science, Journal of Applied Physiology, Diabetes, and the American Journal of Physiology.

The many honors Dr. Gavin has received include the Daniel Hale Williams Award, the E.E. Just Award, the Herbert Nickens Award, the Daniel Savage Memorial Award, the Emory University Medal for Distinguished Achievement, the Banting Medal for Distinguished Service from the American Diabetes Association, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Duke University School of Medicine, and the Internist of the Year from the National Medical Association. Dr. Gavin and his wife, Annie, have three adult sons.

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