Stone is from Montclair, New Jersey.^[1] Stone has said that her early life inspired her career in medicine.^[2] As a child she lost her grandmother to metastatic cancer, and as an undergraduate student she lost a cousin to pneumonia caused by HIV/AIDS. Stone was already a successful science student at high school, and decided that she would eventually pursue a degree in medicine.^[2] As an undergraduate Stone studied chemical engineering, but whilst she enjoyed the science; she missed the interaction with members of society. Motivated by her grandmother, Stone became focused on women's health.^[2] She completed her medical education at the Yale University School of Medicine.^[2][1] She worked as a DJ throughout her studies and lived in the Harkness dorm.^[2][3] Whilst she was studying medicine, she saw members of her family, classmates and friends get infected with HIV.^[2] She has called AIDS the "defining disease of [her] generation".^[2] After graduating in 1984, Stone initially began residency in obstetrics and gynecology, but after internship, switched to internal medicine and completed medicine residency at Case Western Reserve University.^[2] As a medical resident, Stone joined the American College of Physicians, and she was board certified in 1988.^[2][4] She earned a Master of Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She later completed a fellowship in infectious diseases at the Boston City Hospital.^[2] Her first job was at Boston City Hospital, where she directed ambulatory care services.^[1]

After completing her training, Stone was appointed to the faculty at Harvard University.^[2] At the beginning of Stone's career medicine there were limited treatment pathways for patients with HIV/AIDS.^[2] She treated her first HIV/AIDS patient in 1983.^[5] In 1996, things dramatically changed, when highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) made it possible to manage AIDS like other chronic illnesses. Her research focused on why HIV/AIDS was so prevalent amongst Black communities, and how to optimize the care of patients from underserved communities.^[6][7] Whilst working at Harvard, Stone was an active primary care physician and a senior scientist at the Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation at the Massachusetts General Hospital.^[8] She was appointed a full Professor of Medicine at Harvard in 2011, and was the first African-American to hold such a position.^[1][8]

In 2014, Stone was made Chair of the Department of Medicine at Mount Auburn Hospital, and was named the Charles S. Davidson Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.^[8] She moved to the Brigham and Women's Hospital in 2019, where she was made the Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, while continuing her role at Harvard Medical School.^[4] Here she also serves on the faculty of the women's leadership program.^[9]

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Stone used social media to discuss the disproportionate impact of SARS-CoV-2 on communities of colour. In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, Stone wrote to the faculty of Harvard Medical School to describe the anguish that she felt.^[10]

Academic service edit

Stone was appointed a Fellow of the American College of Physicians in 1996.^[2] From 2001 to 2014 Stone directed the primary care residency program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and used the opportunity to transform the curriculum.^[11] As part of this effort Stone created training programs in cross-cultural care, health policy and women's health.^[11] She was elected to the American College of Physicians Board of Regents in 2008, and held this position for over 6 years.^[2][12] From 2012 to 2014 she served as Chair of the Education and Publications committee.^[2] She serves on the advisory board of the Fenway Institute National LGBT Health Education Alliance.^[11]

Awards and honors edit

Her awards and honors include:

• 1996 Fellow of the American College of Physicians^[2]
• 2012 Society of General Internal Medicine Elnora Rhodes Award^[13]
• 2017 Action for Boston Community Development Hero Award^[11]
• 2018 Massachusetts Chapter Laureate Award^[14]
• 2020 American College of Physicians W. Lester Henry Award for Diversity and Access to Care^[2]
• Justice in Health Award from Justice Resource Institute Health^[15]

Selected publications edit

Her publications include:

• Aberg, Judith A.; Kaplan, Jonathan E.; Libman, Howard; Emmanuel, Patricia; Anderson, Jean R.; Stone, Valerie E.; Oleske, James M.; Currier, Judith S.; Gallant, Joel E. (September 1, 2009). "Primary Care Guidelines for the Management of Persons Infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus: 2009 Update by the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America". Clinical Infectious Diseases. 49 (5): 651–681. doi:10.1086/605292. ISSN 1058-4838. PMID 19640227. S2CID 1173425.
• Mayer, Kenneth H.; Stone, Valerie E. (September 15, 2001). "Strategies for Optimizing Adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy: Lessons from Research and Clinical Practice". Clinical Infectious Diseases. 33 (6): 865–872. doi:10.1086/322698. ISSN 1058-4838. PMID 11512092.
• Stone, Valerie; Ojikutu, Bisola; Rawlings, M. Keith; Smith, Kimberly Y., eds. (2009). HIV/AIDS in U.S. Communities of Color. New York: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-0-387-98151-2.
• Washington, Donna L.; Bowles, Jacqueline; Saha, Somnath; Horowitz, Carol R.; Moody-Ayers, Sandra; Brown, Arleen F.; Stone, Valerie E.; Cooper, Lisa A.; Writing group for the Society of General Internal Medicine, Disparities in Health Task Force (2008-01-15). "Transforming Clinical Practice to Eliminate Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare." Journal of General Internal Medicine. 23 (5): 685–691. doi:10.1007/s11606-007-0481-0 ISSN 0884-8734

Stone is married to Kathryn T. Hall, PhD, MPH who is Deputy Commissioner of the Boston Public Health Commission and on faculty ^[16] at the Harvard Medical School.^[2] They have one daughter who works in healthcare management.^[2]