Welcoming Our New Program Manager, Sharon Brock
Stanford Lifestyle Medicine (SLM) is pleased to welcome Sharon Brock, MEd, MS, as the new program manager and lead writer/editor. With a master’s degree from Columbia University journalism school and 17 years of experience as a science journalist, Brock brings a wealth of editorial knowledge to the position and is committed to the overall goal of growing the program with enhanced content across all platforms.
“I am excited to be at Stanford Lifestyle Medicine,” says Brock. “I’m incredibly inspired by the researchers of SLM. I believe their work is essential for the future of medicine and I’m honored to be part of this movement.”
In addition to improving content quality, Brock works closely with the team’s research fellows. As a team under Brock’s leadership, they produce social media posts, blogs, and newsletters that translate complex scientific research into language that is understandable and practical for the general public.
“Lifestyle medicine has traditionally been neglected in modern medicine, but with the help of Stanford researchers and this great team of writers, we can make it more mainstream and accessible for everyone,” says Brock.
Brock grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in the biological sciences and a master’s degree in education. After teaching high school biology in the Bay Area for five years, she moved to New York to earn a second master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
For the past 17 years, Brock has been working as a health and medical editorial professional, including a writing position at UCSF and as the editor-in-chief of the USC Keck Medicine magazine KeckMD, which highlights the work of USC physicians and researchers. She hopes to similarly collaborate with Stanford’s team to share their research findings and innovations in the field of Lifestyle Medicine.
In addition to being an editorial professional, Brock is also a UCLA-certified mindfulness teacher and bestselling author of the book The LOVEE Method: Mindfulness Meditation for Breast Cancer. Following a breast cancer diagnosis in 2018, her training in mindfulness helped her navigate the year-long journey of chemotherapy treatments and surgeries with greater strength.
When the mindfulness practices not only served her emotionally, but also physically–she had minimal side-effects from chemotherapy–she saw it as her duty to publish a book providing mindfulness tools for other women facing this diagnosis. In 2021, her book became a bestseller and was featured on Good Morning America, and it continues to serve as a mental health resource for women going through breast cancer treatment across the country.
“It was a very challenging time, but I asked myself, ‘How can I turn this pain into purpose? How can I use this experience to serve others?’” says Brock. “Although writing this book was a lot of work, when I receive emails from women I’ve never met saying this book was their greatest source of support while going through cancer, it makes it all worth it.”
Brock was thrilled to find this position at Stanford Lifestyle Medicine, which is a great fit with her education and editorial experience. Also, as evidenced by her book, Brock is aligned with the mission of the program to educate and empower the general public with actionable lifestyle choices to enhance health and wellbeing.
“The other day, a researcher on the team spoke about a study where meditation and gratitude practices supported women going through cancer treatment, as shown by blood test results,” says Brock. “As the researcher spoke, I smiled and thought to myself, ‘I’m in the right place.’”
