As America commemorates its 250th anniversary, Ochsner surgeon co-authors NEJM article on U.S. history

NEW ORLEANS - An Ochsner Health transplant surgeon co-authored a recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine examining how physicians have influenced American leadership, public policy and public health from the nation's founding to the present day. 

Justin Barr, MD, PhD, a transplant surgeon at the Ochsner Transplant Institute in New Orleans, co-authored "Declarations of Independence — Physicians and the U.S. Body Politic, 1776–2026," published in The New England Journal of Medicine. His co-authors were Scott H. Podolsky, MD, and David S. Jones, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School. 

Physicians’ role in America's founding 

The article highlights a striking historical fact: five of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were physicians.  Their participation in this groundbreaking event illustrates the larger role doctors played in American society beyond their medical responsibilities, including serving as military generals, state governors, legislators, state supreme court justices, and secretaries of war. The authors describe this era as a "high-water mark" for medical representation in American leadership, noting a decline in physician participation in politics in the 19th and 20th centuries. 

This is the third article in an ongoing NEJM series marking the 250th anniversary of the American independence, with previous installments examining the siege of Boston and the early impact of smallpox on the American Revolution.   

Bridging surgery and history 

Dr. Barr brings a unique perspective to his scholarship as both a practicing surgeon and trained historian. He earned his PhD in history from Yale University and his medical degree from the University of Virginia, completing surgical training at Duke University and the University of Toronto. 

His research focuses on the history of medicine, particularly the evolution of surgery and the relationship among medicine, war and society. In addition to his role at the Ochsner Transplant Institute, Dr. Barr has been selected as an assistant professor of surgery at the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine in New Orleans, which is undergoing the preliminary accreditation process. 

Read the full article, "Declarations of Independence — Physicians and the U.S. Body Politic, 1776–2026," at nejm.org (DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp2600945).