Joel Bervell

Joel Bervell (@joelbervell) is a Ghanaian-American physician health equity educator, and award-winning creator known as the “Medical Mythbuster.” Through viral social media content on platforms reaching more than 2.5 million people, he examines how bias, misinformation, and systemic inequities shape health and healthcare. His work has earned him a Peabody Award, and he was named one of TIME’s 100 most influential creators in 2025, a TED Fellow, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. He hosts The Dose podcast with The Commonwealth Fund, and his forthcoming debut book, The Default Body (Henry Holt), explores how medicine’s assumptions about the “standard” patient influence who gets seen, believed, diagnosed, and treated.

My work is aimed at most directly impacting communities of color who often don’t see their health issues represented in the health care system. I am using social media to teach medical students and physicians about systemic racism in healthcare while also empowering BIPOC patients.

Combating misinformation, Education, Health equity, Policy, Public health, Racial disparities, Social determinants of health, Social media