If there’s one thing many Duke University faculty, administrators, and trainees would agree on, it’s that Dan Blazer, MD, PhD—the J.P. Gibbons Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry in the Duke Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences—is an uplifting individual who has spent much of his 50+ year career supporting others through his professionalism, kindness, and impressive expertise.
“I’ve known Dan since the early 1970s. He’s one of those people that nobody has anything negative to say about,” said Richard Weiner, MD, PhD, professor emeritus of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. “People speak about him in superlative ways. He really does a fantastic job with everything.”
As an author or editor of 40 books, 200 book chapters, over 500 peer-reviewed articles, and more than 190 published abstracts, Blazer has demonstrated a steadfast dedication and desire to help and support others. That common thread has driven his five-decade career in research and teaching.
Making a Mark in Research
From his early days as a medical missionary and budding epidemiological researcher in Africa in 1970, Blazer internalized the value of social support and the impact it has on health. He brought this spark of interest with him when he arrived at Duke as a psychiatry resident in 1973, and it’s a theme that has connected his research efforts ever since.
He credited guidance from mentors in the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health for helping to shape his investigative work.
“Early in my career, I learned that psychiatry was turning more biological,” he said. “I recognized a very important role for social factors and social forces in the development and perpetuation of psychiatric disorders.”
That revelation led to his groundbreaking dissertation on social support and mortality in older adults. His work specifically examined the impact of loneliness. Later, through the Epidemiological Catchment Area Project, he expanded the research with colleague Linda George, PhD, associate director of Duke’s Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. Together, they examined urban and rural differences in the frequency of mental health and psychiatric disorders.
Over time, Blazer leveraged that expertise at the national level. He was selected to chair a National Academy of Medicine committee on loneliness in older adults and became an editor of the second edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Textbook of Geriatric Psychiatry.
“Dan has had a major impact in geriatric psychiatry. Through his research and guidance in countless reports, he’s helped steer how we diagnose and categorize cognitive impairment.”
— Marvin Swartz, MD
“Dan has had a major impact in geriatric psychiatry,” said Marvin Swartz, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavior sciences. “Through his research and guidance in countless reports, he’s helped steer how we diagnose and categorize cognitive impairment.”
In addition, Blazer co-chaired the Institute of Medicine committee and co-authored the report leading to the Millenium Cohort Study. This 40,000-participant investigation examined mental health among military service members before, during, and after the Desert Storm conflict in the early 1990s. He has also chaired National Academy committees on mental health and substance use in the workforce, cognitive aging, and hearing loss in adults. The National Academies awarded Blazer its Lifetime Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his work.
Changing the Course of Medical Education
Although Blazer received the department’s teaching award and served as interim department chair in 1991, he refers to his teaching career as “hit-and-miss.” Yet he made an enormous impact on the education of all Duke’s medical students—not just those studying psychiatry and behavioral medicine. When he became dean of medical education in 1992, he focused on three goals that reshaped the teaching landscape.
Under his leadership, the Duke University School of Medicine doubled its percentage of students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Under his leadership, the Duke University School of Medicine doubled its percentage of students from underrepresented backgrounds. By offering more merit scholarships, the school increased its minority enrollees from seven percent to 14 percent. Blazer said he hopes this push has helped foster more culturally competent patient care.
His foresight also helped launch Duke’s medical curriculum into the digital age.
“I saw that medical education was moving into the electronic age and that we needed to start using computers more effectively in our instruction. I believed all our students needed to have a computer,” he said. “With money from the medical school, we purchased a laptop computer for every student and loaded software onto the computer that enhanced our ability to teach.”
His third priority had, perhaps, the most significant long-term impact on medical training for Duke students. Prior to his tenure, Blazer said Duke’s medical student training focused almost exclusively on inpatient experiences. Students rotated through various medical wards for weeks at a time. However, this approach didn’t reflect what most students would experience in their own careers.
“I knew most of my students—and a vast number in other disciplines—were going to work in clinics most of the time. A focus on the inpatient environment wasn’t showing them what they were really going to encounter in the clinics,” he said. “That’s why we launched the Practice Course.”
This half-day weekly course gave students that opportunity to meet with doctors to discuss the practical aspects of clinic-based medicine, including how to interview and interact with patients. It was an effort, he said, that broke the logjam of an almost totally inpatient-based curriculum.
Guiding with a Purpose
Blazer attributed his career trajectory and successes in part to his many mentors, including George Maddox, PhD; former director of the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development; Ewald Busse, MD, former chair of psychiatry at Duke; John Cassle, MD, former chair of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Department of Epidemiology; and Dorothea Leighton, MD, a former professor of public health and anthropology at UNC.
Each of his mentors took the time to discuss his interests and offer guidance on the next steps to help him reach his goals. While his number of mentees is unclear, he said having a chance to mold and shape future researchers and educators was a job he relished.
“I have been extremely grateful for the kind of mentorship I received in various stages of my career, and I wanted to be that kind of mentor myself. Whenever anybody would come to me for advice, especially career advice, I hope I never turned anyone down.”
— Dan Blazer, MD, PhD
“I have been extremely grateful for the kind of mentorship I received in various stages of my career, and I wanted to be that kind of mentor myself,” he said. “Whenever anybody would come to me for advice, especially career advice, I hope I never turned anyone down.”
Weiner said Blazer has helped shape the future of psychiatry through his mentorship and by passing his wisdom and experience to the next generation of psychiatrists through research and teaching. It’s a legacy that continues to breathe new life into the field.
But Blazer dismissed the notion.
“I’ve never given much thought to having a legacy. I’ve never wanted a building or an endowed chair in my name,” he said. “The whole field of psychiatry and medical education is an ever-changing endeavor, and I’ve been fortunate to be part of it. I have no desire to be anything more than just part of that process.”