David S. Sobel, MD, MPH

Medical Director of Patient Education and Health Promotion The Permanente Medical Group

David’s research and teaching interests include medical self-care, patient education, preventive medicine, behavioral medicine, and psychosocial factors in health. He is coauthor of seven books including: Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions, The Healing Brain, Healthy Pleasures, and Mind & Body Health Handbook. He also served as an invited delegate to the World Health Organization (WHO) Congress that generated the Ottawa Charter on Health Promotion. David is project director for two programs that won the James A Vohs Award for Quality: Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (multi-region winner in 2002) and The Self-Care/Healthwise Handbook Program (runner-up in 1997). He is also a recipient of the TPMG Exceptional Contribution Award for 2005 for creating, developing, and disseminating health education programs that support Kaiser Permanente members throughout the continuum of care. He has also been named the 2010 Honorary Fellow of the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), the highest award bestowed on a non-member who has made significant and lasting contributions to health and health education.

David completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Michigan. He then received his medical training at the University of California, San Francisco with a medical internship at Presbyterian Hospital-Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. He also completed a master’s degree in public health and a residency program in General Preventive Medicine at the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley.