The doctor is in : Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN medical correspondent, to speak Oct. 21 at UCSB Campbell Hall

MARILYN MCMAHON, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

October 9, 2012 5:31 AM

When Dr. Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon, author and Emmy Award-winning chief medical correspondent for CNN, appears Oct. 21 at UCSB Campbell Hall, he is expected "to deliver an in-depth examination of the media's role in reporting on today's sometimes scary and shocking medical headlines."

He gave a hint about one of the topics during a phone interview with the News-Press from Palo Alto, where he is working on a major CNN production involving flame retardants.

"They are supposed to make things safe, but we want to know how many chemicals are actually in things like upholstery, electronics and children's products. In fires, many of these chemicals that are found in flame-retardant clothing for young children can be very dangerous. We have been working on this project for a long time. It will probably be aired in November after the election," said Dr. Gupta, whose talk launches the new Speaking of Health lecture series presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures.

Featured will be leading medical experts and journalists discussing "hot-button health issues of our day, from provocative new approaches to medicine and healing to the latest research on cancer and Alzheimer's disease."

Among the speakers will be Dr. Abraham Verghese, author of the best-seller "Cutting for Stone," whose topic will be "The Search for Meaning in a Medical Life" on March 6.

Since Dr. Gupta began his work at CNN, he has covered some of the most historic and significant events in recent history.

In fact, a month after he started in August 2001, he was involved in reporting on the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in September 2001, followed by the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, in 2005, the earthquake in 2010 and the earthquake and tsunami in in 2011.

While serving as an embedded reporter with the U.S. Navy's medical unit in Iraq, Dr. Gupta performed life-saving brain surgery five times.

A native of Novi, Mich., near Detroit, where his parents settled after moving to the United States from northern , the 42-year-old physician earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of in Ann Arbor.

Before moving to to be a member of the staff and faculty at the School of Medicine and associate chief of at Grady Memorial , Dr. Gupta was a White House fellow and special adviser to first lady . "While I was at the White House in the mid-1990s, I met some CNN staff members who said the network was talking about building a medical unit into the programming," recalled Dr. Gupta. "When I moved to Atlanta, I called them, and they invited me to the CNN headquarters. I was blown away."

In addition to his television work, which varies "depending on breaking news," he is in the operating room at Grady hospital on Mondays and alternate Fridays and sees patients on Thursdays.

In addition, Dr. Gupta has written three books, the most recent a novel titled "Monday Mornings," which refers to the weekly "Morbidity and Mortality" meetings held weekly at a fictional hospital in suburban Detroit.

"It's a time when the doctors discuss what went wrong in recent surgeries. It's like going before a jury of your peers, not a fun outing for the erring physician," said Dr. Gupta, who wrote nonfiction best-sellers "Chasing Life" in 2007 and "Cheating Death" in 2009.

His local appearance is sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Medical Society and Cottage Health System.

Admitting he is not a fast writer, Dr. Gupta said he does his writing "in fits and starts while traveling on planes and slowly but surely, it gets done."

Three years ago, he ran his first triathlon, and since then has completed three of them, the most recent last month in Atlanta and in Malibu.

"I had to learn how to swim before I could compete," he said. "I taught myself how by watching videos."

Dr. Gupta, who was named one of People magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive" and a "pop culture icon" by USA Today in 2003, said he was inspired to take on the athletic feat because of his "passion for Americans to lead healthier, more active lives.

"One of my producers at CNN is a triathlete, and she suggested we create a challenge for people across the country to lead more active lives. As a team leader, I needed to practice what I preached."

"Fit Nation," CNN's anti-obesity initiative, is in its third year.

Somehow, the energetic physician also makes time for his young family, which includes his wife, Rebecca Olson, an attorney who has put her career on hold to care for their three daughters, Sage, 7; Sky, 5; and Soleil, 3.

The couple were married in a posh Hindu-style wedding that was covered by InStyle Magazine in 2004.

According to the article, Dr. Gupta proposed to his future wife in a poem he wrote; in the last line, he asked her to marry him. "Watching her read it, I was very nervous — it was over a page long," he said in the article.

"He was down on one knee and asking me to marry him before I even got to the end," added Ms. Olson.

The article pointed out that the couple, who wore traditional Indian garb, took part in a "series of Hindu rituals, in which they circled a holy fire four times. The person who sits down first is said to rule the marriage.

"Rebecca won that one," said Dr. Gupta, who is also famous for his colorful sock collection.

"Someone gave me a pair of crazy socks with all kinds of colors and designs, and I happened to wear them on a TV talk show," he said. "People started sending me other socks, and family and friends give them to me as gifts. I have about 25 to 30 pairs in great colors and patterns.

"My favorites are purple with big black diamonds. I have a pair that is bright yellow that I wear to board meetings of LiveStrong, the Lance Armstrong Foundation that has yellow as its signature color."

When asked how he manages to do as much as he does in his days, which begin at 5:30 a.m. and end at 11 p.m., Dr. Gupta said, "Most of what I do is not that disparate. Things run along a spectrum, and I find similarities and lines. I also schedule a specific time to complete tasks.

"I find that if I say I am going to complete something in an hour, I usually get it done. But if I think two hours, it takes two hours. By setting a realistic time, I am much more efficient." email: [email protected]

IF YOU GO

"An Afternoon With Sanjay Gupta" will begin at 3 p.m. Oct. 21 at UCSB Campbell Hall. (This is a change from the original venue, the Arlington Theatre.)

The event is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures and sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Medical Society and Cottage Health System.

Tickets are $20 and $35 for the general public and $20 for UCSB students with student ID.

For tickets or more information, call 893-3535 or go to www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.