David M. Stern, MD

David M. Stern, MD, is a Harvard-trained physician who is board certified in addiction medicine. He has more than four decades of experience in clinical, academic and research medicine.

Dr. Stern earned his undergraduate degree at Yale University and his medical degree at Harvard Medical School. He began his career at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1978, starting as an internal medicine intern. He went on to hold an endowed professorship there and to found and direct the Center for Vascular and Lung Pathobiology. He later held senior medical leadership roles at the Medical College of Georgia, the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Dr. Stern’s commitment to addiction medicine is personal. After losing his younger son in 2008 to struggles with mental health and substance use, he devoted his career to helping other families avoid the same loss.

At the University of Tennessee, Dr. Stern led the creation of the Center for Addiction Science. The Addiction Medicine Foundation named it the first Center of Excellence in addiction medicine in the country, as well as its National Research Center. Since 2017 he has focused his clinical work on addiction medicine, first in a university setting and now in private practice. As a medical reviewer, he checks that addiction and treatment content is accurate, current and grounded in evidence-based care.