Federman was born in New York City in 1928, the son of European immigrants who settled in the
Bronx. He graduated summa cum laude from
Harvard College in 1949 and magna cum laude from
Harvard Medical School in 1953. Following an internship and residency at
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), he became a clinical associate at the
National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Disease (
NIAMS) where, under the guidance of
Ed Rall, he studied the effects of
androgens on
thyroid function,
thyroxine metabolism, and
thyroxine-binding protein. In 1957, he began a two-year clinical research fellowship with Sir Edward Pochin at the
University College Hospital Medical School, London, pioneering in the use of
radioactive iodine for the treatment of
thyroid cancer. He was also an endocrinologist specializing in
diabetes and
hormones and practicing
clinical medicine in
Brookline, Massachusetts. He returned to Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in 1964, serving as chief of endocrinology. He continued as assistant chief of medical services in 1967, associate professor of medicine in 1970, and associate chairman of medicine in 1971. In 1973, Federman was recruited to become physician-in-chief and chair of the Department of Medicine at
Stanford University. From 2000 to 2007, Federman was senior dean for alumni relations and clinical teaching at Harvard Medical School. After he retired in spring 2007, he served in
Miami for over six years as an adjunct professor at the
University of Miami's
Miller School of Medicine. == Personal life ==