Jeffrey Baker, MD, PhD
Director, Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine
Director, Program in the History of Medicine
Professor of Pediatrics and History
jeffrey.baker@duke.edu
Dr. Jeffrey Baker is director of the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine. A professor of Pediatrics and the Practice of History, he has served for over 25 years as a general pediatrician in Duke Children’s Primary Care with a focus on children with autism and special needs. Dr. Baker’s historical work has also centered on child health. As the author of the book, The Machine in the Nursery: Incubator Technology and the Origins of Neonatal Intensive Care (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), he is a leading authority on the history of neonatal medicine. Dr. Baker co-edited a 75th year anniversary history of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and has written numerous historical articles related to pediatrics, vaccination controversies, and autism. He directed the Academy’s Pediatric History Center from 2009 until 2018, and continues to serve as the pediatric history monthly feature editor for Pediatrics. He is also an active member of the American Association for the History of Medicine, for which he co-chaired the Program Committee for its 2017 meeting. Dr. Baker has lectured widely on historical topics to many academic audiences in North America.
Most recently, Dr. Baker’s research interests have centered upon the history of racism in medical centers and their communities. He co-led an interdisciplinary Bass Connections project in 2018-19, Documenting Durham’s Health History: Understanding the Roots of Health Disparities. He continues active work situating Duke School of Medicine’s own institutional history within the context of its community, and has spoken to many local audiences on this topic.
As director of the Trent Center’s History of Medicine program since 2006, Dr Baker has taught history to undergraduates, residents, and medical students in all four years. In 2021-21, he co-developed a new interprofessional humanities elective, Moral Movements in Medicine. He has held many other leadership positions at Duke, including directing the Duke autism clinic, the Duke Health Center at Southpoint, and the AB Duke Scholarship Program. In 2019, Dr Baker was awarded the Excellence in Professionalism Aware by Duke School of Medicine.
Dr. Jeffrey Baker is director of the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine. A professor of Pediatrics and the Practice of History, he has served for over 25 years as a general pediatrician in Duke Children’s Primary Care with a focus on children with autism and special needs. Dr. Baker’s historical work has also centered on child health. As the author of the book, The Machine in the Nursery: Incubator Technology and the Origins of Neonatal Intensive Care (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), he is a leading authority on the history of neonatal medicine. Dr. Baker co-edited a 75th year anniversary history of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and has written numerous historical articles related to pediatrics, vaccination controversies, and autism. He directed the Academy’s Pediatric History Center from 2009 until 2018, and continues to serve as the pediatric history monthly feature editor for Pediatrics. He is also an active member of the American Association for the History of Medicine, for which he co-chaired the Program Committee for its 2017 meeting. Dr. Baker has lectured widely on historical topics to many academic audiences in North America.
Most recently, Dr. Baker’s research interests have centered upon the history of racism in medical centers and their communities. He co-led an interdisciplinary Bass Connections project in 2018-19, Documenting Durham’s Health History: Understanding the Roots of Health Disparities. He continues active work situating Duke School of Medicine’s own institutional history within the context of its community, and has spoken to many local audiences on this topic.
As director of the Trent Center’s History of Medicine program since 2006, Dr Baker has taught history to undergraduates, residents, and medical students in all four years. In 2021-21, he co-developed a new interprofessional humanities elective, Moral Moments of Medicine. He has held many other leadership positions at Duke, including directing the Duke autism clinic, the Duke Health Center at Southpoint, and the AB Duke Scholarship Program. In 2019, Dr Baker was awarded the Excellence in Professionalism Aware by Duke School of Medicine.