Dr. Joseph Biederman

Joseph Biederman, MD, passed away on January 5, 2023 at the age of 75, surrounded by his family. He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather who died from complications of mantle cell lymphoma. The son of Ana and Max Biederman, Holocaust survivors who were saved by Oskar Schindler, he was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. The family immigrated to Argentina where he grew up together with his twin brother Leon. At 23, he graduated from the University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine and the following year began his psychiatry residency at Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem. He moved to the US in 1978 and began a fellowship in child psychiatry at Children’s Hospital, Boston, and in 1980 joined the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Psychiatry.

He is regarded as the father of pediatric psychopharmacology and demonstrated tireless dedication to the examination of the causes, diagnosis and treatment of ADHD across the lifespan. A pioneer and maverick in the field of child psychiatry, he was also a fierce advocate for his patients and their families. He mentored hundreds of people both professionally and personally and treated thousands of patients throughout his 40+ year career at MGH. In addition to his exceptional competence as a psychopharmacologist, he was highly regarded as an empathic physician who was beloved by his patients and their families.

His research work propelled the field of ADHD and Child Psychiatry, and by 2007 he was the most cited psychiatrist and child psychiatrist in all of medicine, as well as one of the most productive researchers at Harvard Medical School. He served as the Chief of the Clinical and Research Programs in Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD; Director of the Alan and Lorraine Bressler Clinical and Research Program for Autism Spectrum Disorders at MGH; and Professor of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School until his death.

Although work was very important to him, nothing meant more to him than his family. His wife of 42 years, Helen Charlupski, was the love of his life, and he cherished watching his three children grow up and thrive and welcoming his son and daughter-in-law into the family. Most recently he delighted in becoming Papa Yossi to his four grandchildren. May we all strive to live a life as full of dedication, determination, and love as Yossi. And may his memory be a blessing.

He is survived by his wife, Helen; children Itai Biederman, Daniela (Seth) Waldenberg, Ari Biederman (Tracy Webber); grandchildren Noah, Jacob and Kayla Biederman and Lila Waldenberg; and his brother Leon (Aviva) Biederman.

Funeral services Monday, January 9, at 10:30am, Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA.

Shiva at the family home on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 5-8PM. In lieu of flowers, donations in his honor may be made to: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, or Jewish Heritage Museum, NYC, or The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.