Dr. Brooks graduated from Dartmouth College in 1941. He earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1943 and received a Ph.D. in the sciences from the University in 1944. He later served in the Navy. In 1962, he became Chief of Gastroenterology at the University of Pennsylvania, and was Professor of Medicine and Physiology. He was Chief until 1975 and as interim Chief from 1987-1989. He retired in 1990 and became Professor Emeritus in Medicine and Physiology.
Dr Brooks was a renowned GI physiologist and was viewed as one of the founding fathers of the field. To that end, Dr. Brooks started the journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences, serving as its first Editor-in-Chief. Recognized nationally and internationally, Dr. Brooks was President of the American Gastroenterology Association in 1980, and won several awards, including its highest one, the Julius Friedenwald Medal. He trained and mentored a generation of students, residents and GI fellows. Sadly, Dr. Brooks passed away in 1991 due to multiple myeloma. His wife was Emily Marden, and their children, Sally Elizabeth Braff and Robert P. Brooks, along with eight grandchildren. Dr. Brooks and his legacy are remembered through an annual Philadelphia-wide lectureship as well as an annual research award to Penn GI fellows.