NMF alumnus Dr. Lawrence S. Brown, Jr. embodies a lifelong commitment to public health, addiction medicine, and creating opportunity for younger generations.  

“Giving back provides me much more energy now than anything else,” says Dr. Lawrence S. Brown Jr., M.D., MPH. This spirit of generosity defines his decades-long career — as a physician, researcher, policy advocate, educator, and leader.

As a long-time supporter of National Medical Fellowships, Dr. Brown contributes not only through his own giving, but also through an endowment established by his mother in memory of his late son.

“I want to give back and support those like me who would not have had the opportunities were it not for NMF. It’s incredibly important today to work together to meet the needs of medically underserved communities throughout our nation — and, in fact, the call to advocacy now is even more so than during my time as a medical student.”

Dr. Brown grew up in Brownsville in Brooklyn, New York. To this day, he is still a proud resident: “Never ran; never will,” he said.

As the eldest of four siblings growing up amid addiction and alcoholism in their community, Dr. Brown saw firsthand how fast substance use can turn into a disorder. He lost his father to lung cancer — a consequence of nicotine dependence.

“It wasn’t that people were waking up one morning addicted,” he said. “They were finding themselves in situations where drugs and alcohol simply became outlets in which to face difficult socioeconomic circumstances.”

The Vietnam War only exacerbated those circumstances for many. Dr. Brown himself was drafted to serve, and upon his return (following receipt of a bronze star for meritorious service), he witnessed fellow soldiers devolving into heroin addiction.

Dr. Brown — who was first inspired to become a physician by the medical struggles his late grandmother faced — earned his undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College and went on to study at New York University School of Medicine.

“Getting in and receiving support from NMF was a huge deal and tremendously necessary to meet the expenses associated with medical school.”

In his second year, Dr. Brown realized that, to contribute to his community successfully, he had to think more macroscopically:

“Compared to clinical science, public health has more to do with reducing excess morbidity and mortality than any pill or injection ever will,” he said.

His desire to address issues like regulation and funding influenced his decision to simultaneously earn his master’s degree in public health from Columbia University.

Upon earning both his M.D. and his MPH, Dr. Brown completed his internship, residency, and chief residency at Harlem Medical Center, focusing on addiction medicine, before completing a research fellowship in neuroendocrinology in the Department of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and becoming an assistant attending physician.

After teaching at both Columbia University’s medical and public health schools, Dr. Brown later took on executive leadership roles at the Urban Resources Institute and the Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation (ARTC) in Brooklyn.

During the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, his work took on new urgency.

“It became clear that I needed to investigate connections between HIV and addiction, particularly the behaviors putting patients at higher risk.”

Dr. Brown became a vital voice on national advisory panels and caught the attention of the National Football League, where he has served as medical advisor since 1990: “The NFL wanted to prevent addiction among its workforce and asked me to create programs that would reduce substance use and educate their employees.”

His influence expanded nationally through appointments to prestigious panels, including the FDA’s Drug Abuse Advisory Committees, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Dr. Brown also became a clinical investigator in NIDA’s Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network and served as a physician at Rockefeller University Hospital for more than two decades.

Dr. Brown has also taught and mentored future public health leaders as a clinical associate professor of public health at Weill Cornell Medical College, where he remains an adjunct today. His research and teaching continue to focus on improving treatment and outcomes for those with substance use disorders.

From 2012 to 2022, Dr. Brown served as CEO of START Treatment and Recovery Centers, where he had started as a clinical physician in 1982. Under his leadership, START (formerly ARTC) became one of the most respected nonprofits providing addiction treatment in New York.

“I had the opportunity to make contributions at various levels, and though the process was gradual, it all stemmed from wanting to take care of one patient at a time to taking care of entire communities and populations.”

He continues to serve on multiple state boards, including the New York State Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board, the Policy Committee of the Statewide Health Information Network for New York, and others addressing behavioral health and public health policy.

Dr. Brown’s sense of service also extends beyond medicine. For example, he is the proud former chair of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, appointed by the U.S. treasury secretary in 2019. “Coins are historic documents,” he said, explaining his lifelong interest in coin collecting. “They give context to the time they were minted and connect us to living history.”

Dr. Brown also continues his involvement with professional organizations such as the American Society of Addiction Medicine (Distinguished Fellow), where he previously served as president and board chair. He also served on the board, including one year as chair, of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the national anti-doping organization in the United States for Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American, and Parapan American sport.

Last, but certainly not least, he says his connection to NMF is stronger than ever.

 “NMF stands for what I believe medicine is and should be moving forward.”

“I am driven by the belief that health care is inseparable from policy and community engagement — and you simply cannot be what you cannot see,” Dr. Brown added, emphasizing the need to inspire, mentor, and support future generations of physicians.

“We need people at the table with shared lived experiences — addressing disease prevention, medical treatment, and workforce development — so they can help prevent others from going through the same,” he added.

Dr. Brown not only heard the call to advocacy but answered it with a life of impact: “As health care providers, we have a voice — and we must use it to enact the will of the people we have committed to serve.”