Ellen Braunstein
Dr. Sharon Wolfson imagined a career in medicine the year she became a bat mitzvah: “Around that age, I decided I wanted to be a doctor and take care of people,” she said.
More specifically, she was influenced by her mother, who was born with an uncommon gastrointestinal disease. Part of the nervous system in her intestine was undeveloped.
“She struggled with her health throughout her life,” said Wolfson, who is 32 and lives in Lower Merion. “I decided to see if I could help her.”
She read as much information as she could and then contacted experts in the field. Her interest at age 14 led to an invitation to work on a research project. At 16, she presented findings at a medical conference.
“Since then, I’ve been fully invested,” she said.
Wolfson is now a pediatric gastroenterologist who cares for young patients and researches their rare diseases. The afflictions typically cause the intestines to stop functioning properly due to nerve abnormality or weakened muscles.
She is a fellow, now in advanced training, with the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Wolfson is a graduate of Boston University with a major in biomedical engineering. She went to medical school at the University of Miami and performed her residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
Since moving to Philadelphia in 2020, her connection to the Jewish community has been primarily educational and social. She has attended Spruce Street Minyan and events sponsored by Tribe 12, Moishe House and the Jewish Graduate Student Network.
She and her fiancé, Chase Spring, have talked about joining a Conservative minyan or synagogue.
“That’s our next step,” she said.
Spring works in IT. They met online through the Coffee Meets Bagel dating app.
Wolfson grew up in a Conservative Jewish household in Weston, Florida. Her father is a financial planner and her mother taught high school math.
She attended Shabbat services weekly and ate Shabbat dinners with her family.
“Much of my passion for helping others stems from my Jewish upbringing,” she said.
Wolfson was chapter president of United Synagogue Youth in high school and served on the Regional General Board. She attended Camp Ramah Darom for five summers.
“Ramah was some of my best memories. That was the time that I got to see what it was like to be shomer Shabbat and keep strictly kosher. I learned a lot more about the holidays, not just in the classroom.”
Through USY, she traveled on a Poland-Israel pilgrimage when she turned 16. She spent the first week seeing concentration camps and life before World War II in Poland. Then it was on to Israel.
“It was a very meaningful experience for me. I continue to feel strongly connected to Israel.”
In college, she studied biomedical engineering for a semester at Tel Aviv University and learned Hebrew in an ulpan.
Wolfson volunteered during spring break with Hillel International in New Orleans, helping to repair homes damaged during Hurricane Katrina. She also spent a spring break at Jewish Farm School, a program that brings Jews back to their agricultural roots by discovering what it means to grow their own food.
Wolfson has made contributions as an advocate for patients and health care providers. She has lobbied legislators in Washington, D.C., on behalf of organizations to improve health care policy.
“I have the privilege of having heard the voices of so many and I also have the privilege of people being more willing to hear what I have to say. We want our patients to have better access to care and to be able to provide better care.”
One of her goals is to make prescription drugs more affordable by allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies.
“What I’ve learned from this is that it takes a really long time to push the needle. Change doesn’t actually come to fruition until many years later.”
A Jewish value, tikkun olam, guides her in medicine, Wolfson said.
“Using our own talents to try to make the world a better place, improve our own communities, I try to do that every day as a physician both inside and outside the clinic,” she said.
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.
