Lopez, Ralph I. 1942–

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Lopez, Ralph I. 1942–

PERSONAL: Born January 3, 1942, in San Juan, Puerto Rico; son of Ralph and Aida (Miranda) Lopez; married July 30, 1964; wife's name Paula; children: Abigail Jennifer. Education: Fordham Coolege, A.B. (cum laude), 1963; New York University, M.D., 1967.

ADDRESSES: Office—418 East 71st St., New York, NY 10021-4894.

CAREER: Bellevue Hospital, New York, NY, pediatric intern, 1973–96; Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, resident pediatric physician, 1969–70; New York Hospital, New York, NY, assistant professor, 1973–79, associate professor, 1979–83, clinical associate professor of pediatrics, 1983; Weill Medical College, Cornell University, New York, NY, associate professor. Consulting physician to Dalton School, 1973–86, and Nightingale Bamford, 1986–90. Chairman of board of directors, Louis August Jones Foundation, Rhinebeck, NJ, 1990; member of board of directors, Covenant House, New York, NY, 1990–92; member of nominating committee, Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., New York, NY, 1991. Military service: U.S. Naval Reserve, lieutenant commander, 1971–73.

AWARDS, HONORS: Phi Beta Kappa.

WRITINGS:

The Teen Health Book: A Parents' Guide to Adolescent Health and Well-Being, Norton (New York, NY), 2002.

Contributor to professional journals. Editor, Adolescent Medicine: Topics, 1976–.

SIDELIGHTS: Ralph I. Lopez is a pediatrician whose specialty is adolescent medicine. His work in this field began while he was in the U.S. Naval Reserve and was charged with setting up a health-care program for the teenaged children of Navy officers. Realizing how much he enjoyed working with adolescents, Lopez dedicated himself to what was, at that time, a relatively new specialty. Since then, his practice has led him to treat everything from strep throat to eating disorders, and to counsel young people on subjects ranging from homosexuality to body piercings. Lopez seeks to make his patients feel safe, respecting their confidentiality despite their status as minors. "What I want for them to feel is that I'm somebody they can rely on to call, regardless of what the issues are," he was quoted as saying by Leslie Berger in the New York Times.

Lopez offers a valuable source of information for parents of adolescents with his book The Teen Health Book: A Parents' Guide to Adolescent Health and Well-Being. His book is broader in scope than many on teen health, going beyond problems unique to the age group to discuss all aspects of health and illness: information on sleep, eating habits, changes related to puberty, and drugs and alcohol problems are all provided. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly called The Teen Health Book as "a useful resource for overall health," while Anne C. Tomlin, assessing the title for Library Journal, called it "a terrific book" that reveals its author's "empathy and good humor."