David Davis Rutstein (1909-1986) was a long-time faculty member at Harvard Medical School and an advocate for preventive medicine.
He joined the Harvard Medical School faculty in 1947 as a professor and head of the Department of Preventive Medicine, a position he held until 1969.
[1] In his teaching career, Rutstein taught medical students preventive clinical medicine, focusing on the interfaces of basic sciences, epidemiology, design of experiments, biological engineering, and health services research.
[5] The short program was designed to inform the general public about local and national health concerns and to introduce them to current research projects in medicine.
[6] During the 1960s, Rutstein directed a study on forming health maintenance programs, lobbied for changes in state laws regarding birth control, and advocated for the role of nurse midwives in delivery rooms.