# Itzhak Brook

Itzhak Brook (born 1941) is an adjunct professor of pediatrics and medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington DC. He specializes in infectious diseases. He is a past chairman of the Anti-infective Drug Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and chaired the Committee when AZT was approved for the treatment of HIV/AIDS in 1987.

## Early life and career

Itzhak Brook was born and raised in Haifa, Israel. He graduated from the Hareali Haivri high school and was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in 1959 and completed an officer's course. He earned his medical degree and completed his residency at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Hadassah School of Medicine and obtained a master's degree in pediatrics from Tel Aviv University. He served as a medic in the Israeli army during the Six-Day War in 1967 and subsequently as a battalion physician during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Brook then moved to the United States and completed a fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of California, Los Angeles. He served in the United States Navy Medical Corps for 27 years.

## Medical research & work

Brook has developed treatment guidelines for primary care clinicians, and has also done work on infectious disease of broad public interest. His main research interests are anaerobic infections, sinusitis, and tonsillitis. He is a long-standing campaigner against overuse of antibiotics which can lead to antibiotic resistance, has researched common health threats like disease transmission on airplanes, while dispelling common concerns about contaminated library books and subway handlebars. He has also been an expert source for major media on health issues like AZT, improving patient care after his own serious illness and cancer, and preventing medical errors.
Brook has authored publications in scientific journals and 10 medical textbooks. He is the author of "The Laryngectomee Guide" that was published in 22 languages.
He is the US editor of Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Editor Textbook of "Pediatrics Infectious Diseases " at Medscape Reference, Section Editor of "Pediatric Infections" at Current Infectious Diseases Report, associate editor of Journal of Medical Case Reports, a member of the editorial board of several medical journals, and a board member of the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance.
During his service in the United States Navy he researched the treatment of bacterial infections after ionized radiation for which he was awarded three Defense Meritorious Service Medals. Brook received the 2012 J. Conley Medical Ethics Award of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.
Brook is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Society for Pediatric Research, and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. His research interests include anaerobic infections, the pathogenesis and therapy of polymicrobial infections, including upper respiratory tract infections (i.e. sinusitis, tonsillitis).

## Personal

Brook wrote a book about his experience as a patient with throat cancer and a book about his experiences as a battalion physician in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
His daughter is Tammy Brook, founder and CEO of FYI Brand Group.