HMS alumnus Siddhartha Mukherjee wins Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction

Siddhartha Mukherjee, M.D. '00, is honored for The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer.

Joining a long and notable list of Harvard-affiliated physicians whose skill with words has enabled them to educate audiences far beyond their immediate circles of patients and colleagues, Siddhartha Mukherjee, M.D. '00, has been awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for a work of general nonfiction for his book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (Scribner). The Pulitzer judges praised the work as “an elegant inquiry, at once clinical and personal, into the long history of an insidious disease that, despite treatment breakthroughs, still bedevils medical science.”

Mukherjee is currently an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University; his lab "works on acute myeloid leukemia and pre-leukemic diseases, such as myelodysplasia (MDS)," seeking to “understand the pathogenesis of AML and MDS in order to develop novel drugs” against them.

 

Profiles from our archives of Atul Gawande and Jerome Groopman offer introductions to other Harvard-affiliated physician-authors. 

You might also like

A new book explores the Harvard-trained architect’s vision and impact, from Ground Zero to the Smithsonian.

The play Spare Parts is a contemporary fable about the quest to live forever.

David Battat promotes alumni engagement.

Most popular

A former Harvard College writing tutor changes her mind on LLMs.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Martin Nowak Placed on Leave a Second Time

Further links to Jeffrey Epstein surface in newly released files.

Explore More From Current Issue

Runners compete on a track, with a Harvard athlete in the foreground and others behind.

After a historic 2025-26 season, athletes eye NCAA championships.

A flooded office scene with computers, a woman working, and a pink sunset backdrop.

A College student’s attempt to recapture the romanticism of the workplace.

Three hands hold smartphones displaying social media profiles with likes and hearts.

Tell us about how social media impacts your daily life.