Personalities

Beyond Gray’s Gastroenterology

Darrell Gray fosters advancements in health equity

Arising star at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Darrell Gray, MD, MPH, is leading the way in fighting for health equity and justice in central Ohio.

Gray wears many hats at the university, the medical center and the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, to tackle major issues in the healthcare system such as access to care.

By day, he’s a practicing gastroenterologist, the medical director of healthy communities and a chairman on the health equity steering committee at the medical center, the deputy director of the Center for Cancer Health Equity at the James, and an assistant professor of medicine and a researcher in health disparities at the university.

By night, he’s a husband and a father.

“One thing that unifies all of my roles and everything I do is team-based work,” Gray says. “Whether I am at a patient’s bedside or I am developing new initiatives to engage communities in healthy behaviors, or I am writing a grant or implementing a research protocol with colleagues and community members, it’s all team based.”

There is no typical day in the life for Gray as he works to balance all of these

roles, except for Tuesdays when he’s in the clinic.

“I spend about 20 percent of my time during the week with my gastroenterology hat on,” he says. “What makes the days outside of Tuesdays different is how that team-based work is done differently.”

Gray works with cancer center leadership and medical center leadership to address barriers to care, improve accru-

al to clinical trials, engage communities in education and outreach with regard to cancer care, and address the most pressing needs in Ohio which have recently included obesity, addiction, mental health and infant mortality.

“It seems like a real diverse array of things, but they all mesh and intersect,” he says. “At the end of the day, it’s all working toward trying to get us as a health system and, as a community, closer to health equity in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.”

The Journey

Gray was inspired to become a doctor by his father, an internal medicine physician. He attended Morehouse College, a historically Black college in Atlanta attended by visionaries like Martin Luther King Jr. and Spike Lee.

“The list goes on as to the prolific African American men who matriculated through that institution,” he says.

As a student, Gray had a number of strong mentors who provided him the opportunity to explore his strengths and interests and propelled him into a career in medicine. He began studying cardiology at the Howard University College of Medicine.

“Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of African Americans,” Gray says. “I thought I could find my niche in that space and have a significant impact on both the individual level for patients I would see in clinic, but also on the community and national level in addressing disparities.”

During his residency at Duke University Medical Center, he realized he liked cardiology but didn’t love it, and so began shifting his focus to gastroenterology. What stayed the same, however, was his passion for addressing inequalities in health care.

While completing a gastroenterology fellowship at Washington University, he established a program that helped an underserved community get access to primary health care and early cancer screenings.

“I knew there were some skill sets that I felt that I needed that would help me to translate such programs to policy that could impact people more broadly,” he says.

This thought led him to take on another fellowship, this time dedicated to physicians who want to cultivate leadership skills in a way that leads them to view their work through a health equity lens.

“That really is something that underpins all of the work I do now,” he says.

During his second fellowship, he simultaneously pursued a master’s degree in public health at Harvard University. Unsurprisingly, Gray began to field offers for faculty positions from a

fit five

with Darrell Gray

Follow Dr. Gray on Twitter @dmgraymd as he explores the spaces of health equity, cancer prevention, anti-racism and health tips.

variety of universities shortly after graduation. Then a colleague of his reached out to suggest OSU. Gray decided to visit the university and ended up falling in love with the people he met and the opportunities the job would provide. After praying and considering all his options, he and his wife Brittney moved to Columbus and settled into New Albany at the end of their first year. “It’s probably one of the best decisions, outside of getting married to my amazing wife and having three beautiful kids,” Gray says. As a member of the OSU community, Gray has made connections with people all over Columbus and central Ohio. “Regardless of what role you serve in the health system, the medical center, cancer center, whatever part of OSU – you have the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with community partners and individuals within the community, and I think that’s something that I’ve been blessed to be able to do and that I think more people should engage with,” he says.

Out of all the communities in Columbus, Gray and his family are proud to call New Albany their home.

“From those people we have the pleasure of calling our neighbors to those with whom we interact at the grocery store, the post office, on leisurely walks and in other areas of amenities across New Albany,” he says, “I think it’s the people who have made living there a really rewarding experience.”

Sarah Robinson is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.

Here are Gray’s top five healthy habits he practices each week:

1. Exercise throughout the day. 2. Try to eat more fruits and veggies. 3. Avoid eating traditional desserts like cookies and cakes and substitute them with fruit. “I have a sweet tooth,” he says. 4. Being intentional about the time and energy you invest in your marriage and children. 5. Pray, “For me, that’s a healthy habit for sure,” he says. Bonus: Meditate

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