Physician Builder Spotlight: Spencer Dorn

We’re shining light on MD-entrepreneurs! Each week, we’ll feature an entrepreneurial doctor who’s building a cool product, company, or working on a big idea that you definitely want to know about. This week, meet Spencer Dorn, Vice Chair & Processor of Medicine at UNC. Spencer was a previous guest on our “How I Doctor” podcast which you can listen to here. He is a member of the ML for MDs Slack Group which you can learn more about and apply to join here (physicians only).

1. Spencer, what inspired you to become a physician thought leader? Throughout my academic career, I’ve published in peer-reviewed journals. But after becoming a tenured professor, I felt freer to write in a more conversational voice and publish in less traditional venues — places where I could reach broader, more diverse audiences. I’m naturally curious and read a lot. Writing helps me process what I’m learning, sharpen my thinking, and surface insights I might otherwise miss. As Leslie Lamport wrote, "If you're thinking without writing, you only think you're thinking." Just as important, it creates opportunities to engage with others working in and around healthcare and technology.

2. Tell us about your focus and the problem or gap you're solving or filling. I’m focused on how information technologies are reshaping medicine — both for better and for worse. Tech is often seen through extremes: utopian or dystopian. But history — and experience — suggest something more complex. Most technologies come with tradeoffs: real gains alongside real downsides. Tech does not advance in a straight line. I aim to offer a more nuanced perspective grounded in my experiences as a practicing gastroenterologist, academic, physician leader, clinical operator, and regular human.

3. What's your advice to anyone who's thinking about thought leadership or pursuing a nontraditional career in medicine? While my own path has been fairly traditional — 25+ years in academic medical centers — I absolutely encourage clinicians to share their ideas more publicly. Writing and speaking beyond the clinic or classroom sharpens your thinking, invites valuable feedback, and often leads to meaningful connections. There are so many ways to contribute — short posts, essays, talks, and podcasts. And while we don’t have a monopoly on insight, clinicians do have a privileged perspective. As Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote in Hamilton, we’re in “the room where it happens.” We should speak up.

4. What's one lesson you've learned since beginning your writing and thought leadership that wasn't obvious to you before? That it’s worth sharing ideas even when they’re imperfect. Especially when they’re imperfect. Putting thoughts into words — publicly — invites dialogue, challenges, and revisions. It helps us learn and improve. No one has a monopoly on correct views or good ideas.

Connect with Spencer on LinkedIn here. Know someone else who should be featured? Reply with their name and their company in the comments!