Eric Fleegler, MD MPH is a pediatric emergency physician and health services researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is a Senior Research Investigator at the MGH Gun Violence Prevention Center and holds the Patricia J. O'Malley, MD, Endowed Scholar in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.

His clinical work in the emergency department includes expertise in procedural sedation (he was the Director of the Pediatric Sedation Service at Boston Children's Hospital from 2009-2024) and pain management. He regularly lectures around the United States and internationally on firearm injury prevention, procedural sedation, disparities in health care, health-related social needs, and other topics.  

His research and innovation focus on three areas: (1) Firearm injuries with a focus on epidemiology, risk factors and the role of legislation in reducing firearm fatalities; (2) Development and evaluation of tools to help families with health-related social needs; he developed “HelpSteps”, a system for assessment and referral of families to social services which is now the backbone referral system for the United Way/Mass2-1-1 used by over 500,000 people annually; (3) Health inequities at the country and hospital level. He is co-director of the required first year medical school course, Essentials of the Profession: Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He has published over 130 original research articles, editorials and chapters.

Dr. Fleegler's work related to firearm injury prevention has looked in-depth at the role of firearm legislation at the state level and its role in the reduction of firearm fatalities. In particular, his research has evaluated the relationship between the presence of Child Access Prevention laws and lower children firearm fatality rates, removing firearms from people with domestic violence restraining orders and lower domestic violence homicides, and the overall relationship between firearm legislation and lower rates of firearm homicides, suicides and unintentional fatalities. His research has been quoted by President Barack Obama and referenced by the Supreme Court. His work has thoroughly documented the growing disparities in firearm fatalities over the past 30 years and he has spoken at over 40 conferences and institutions across the country on the urgency of addressing the firearm mortality crisis in the U.S. He co-established the Children's Hospital Association Research in Gun-Related Events (CHARGE) research group. He has published over 40 articles and chapters on firearm violence and co-edited the textbook, Pediatric Firearm Injuries and Fatalities: The Providers Guide to Policies and Approaches to Harm Prevention, published by Springer Nature. He has participated in multiple CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Study Section Peer Review groups for firearm research grant applications.

Dr. Fleegler completed his undergraduate studies in Political Science at Brown University, attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and his Masters in Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. He completed his pediatric residency at the Boston Combined Residency Program (Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center), his pediatric emergency medicine fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital, and completed the Havard Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship Program.