Atul Gawande (1965–) is an American surgeon and public health researcher. He is a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and has practiced surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital. His work focuses on health-care quality, patient safety, and public health, and he played a leading role in developing the World Health Organization's Surgical Safety Checklist. A longtime contributor to The New Yorker, he is widely recognized for making complex medical and ethical issues accessible to a broad audience. His best-known book, "Being Mortal", explores the limits of modern medicine and argues for a more humane approach to aging, serious illness, and end-of-life care.
