contributor Ari Tuckman, Psy.D. “For years, I have used one of his studies to calm parents who are anxious about considering stimulant medication for their child.”The Hallowell Centers
for Cognitive and Emotional Health. “I’m deeply grateful to Dr. Biederman for his disruptive curiosity and the cornucopia of research it begat; for his generosity in opening the door to younger colleagues; for his courage in standing up for what he believed in; and for his stellar example of a life well lived… I mark his passing with sadness but also with immense personal gratitude. I could not have written my books about ADHD without the work of Joe Biederman.
In 2008, Biederman came under scrutiny when Congressional investigators found that he, along with two colleagues, failed to disclose earnings from drug makers. The following year,reported that Biederman “had told drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson that planned studies of its medicines in children would yield favorable results benefiting the company, according to court documents dating over several years.
At 23, Biederman graduated from the University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine and began his psychiatry residency at Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, the following year. He moved to the U.S. in 1978 and began a fellowship in child psychiatry at Children’s Hospital, Boston. He joined the MGH Department of Psychiatry in 1980.
Biederman is survived by his wife, Helen; children Itai Biederman, Daniela Waldenberg, and Ari Biederman ; grandchildren Noah, Jacob, and Kayla Biederman and Lila Waldenberg; and his brother, Leon Biederman.