In our Creative Conversations series, Dr. Ely discusses why the practice of medicine brings together science and the humanities, how innovative approaches are providing better care for the whole person, and why being proven wrong is a reason to celebrate.
E. Wesley Ely is professor of medicine and critical care at Vanderbilt University, where he holds the Grant W. Little Chair in Medicine and serves as co-director of the Center for Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship. His research focuses on the psychological, cognitive, and functional consequences of delirium and its intersection with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. He is the recipient of several awards, including the American Thoracic Society’s John W. Walsh Public Advisory Roundtable Award for Excellence and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Paul B. Magnuson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rehabilitation Research and Development. In addition to his more than 600 peer-reviewed articles, Dr. Ely is the author of Every Deep-Drawn Breath, which won the 73rd annual Christopher Award for Literature and was placed on the American Medical Association’s 2025 list of “8 Great Books.”
November 2025
In our Creative Conversations series, Dr. Ely discusses why the practice of medicine brings together science and the humanities, how innovative approaches are providing better care for the whole person, and why being proven wrong is a reason to celebrate.
E. Wesley Ely is professor of medicine and critical care at Vanderbilt University, where he holds the Grant W. Little Chair in Medicine and serves as co-director of the Center for Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship. His research focuses on the psychological, cognitive, and functional consequences of delirium and its intersection with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. He is the recipient of several awards, including the American Thoracic Society’s John W. Walsh Public Advisory Roundtable Award for Excellence and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Paul B. Magnuson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rehabilitation Research and Development. In addition to his more than 600 peer-reviewed articles, Dr. Ely is the author of Every Deep-Drawn Breath, which won the 73rd annual Christopher Award for Literature and was placed on the American Medical Association’s 2025 list of “8 Great Books.”
November 2025