John Romano and George Engel: Their Lives and Work is a historical biography of two distinguished physicians who were members of the University of Rochester’s medical school faculty from 1946 until their deaths in the 1990s. The authors here narrate the personal histories of these two figures from their births through their medical education and postgraduate training and their activities as members of the faculties at Harvard and Cincinnati before they came to Rochester.
For each phase of their lives and work, the book explores those factors – family influences, mentors, institutional and other forces – that shaped the development of their philosophies of medical education and their views regarding the care of the sick. The book also examines in detail those factors that led Romano and Engel to Rochester, their work together and separately in research and medical education, and the nature of their complex personal relationship over the years.
Drawing from recorded interviews with colleagues and family members, archival materials, and published research, including the subjects’ own papers, the authors round out their examination of the lives and work of two figures who had a transforming influence – nationally and globally – on the education of physicians, the care of patients, and research into mind-body interactions.

Dr. Jules Cohen was Professor of Medicine and Cardiology at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Stephanie Brown Clark is Associate Professor and Director of Medical Humanities Programs, University of Rochester Medical Center.