Interests
Jamie Talan, MPH
Science Journalist
We must figure out ways to identify the pathology earlier, so that treatment can begin as early as possible.
Current Work
Jamie is a science writer specializing in neuroscience and neurology. She is an assistant professor of science education at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the editor-in-chief of the art and literary journal – Narrateur. She also writes for Neurology Today, an American Academy of Neurology publication.
Personal Hero
Scientists who study the brain
Words of Strength
Making connection to improve life for patients and their caregivers
Vision
To reduce the scale and impact of dementia, we must be open to a new way of looking at the causes these neurodegenerative diseases, and then figuring out ways to identify the pathology earlier than the signs, so that treatment can begin as early as possible.
Strategy
Jamie has committed her time and money to creating the lecture series and support groups that are now in their third years. Thousands of people have participated in these programs, and it is leading to a better understanding of what these diseases look like and how we can address patient and caregiver needs.
Impact
My primary achievement as an Atlantic Fellow is changing the landscape for patients with posterior cortical atrophy and their loved ones. People now have a home to meet others with the same condition. I hired a neuropsychologist from Harvard who works with PCA patients, and we co-facilitate the twice-monthly groups together.
Motivation
Jamie is very interested in understanding what triggers atypical dementias and why these types of problems appear a decade or two earlier than the most commonly known Alzheimer’s disease.
Education & Experience
Jamie Talan received her masters in public health at State University of New York at Stony Brook. She spent the first 25 years of her career at Newsday, a daily newspaper in New York. She covered the brain. She left in 2008 to start an art and literary journal – Narrateur – at a new medical school – The Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. It is now in its tenth year, and Jamie remains the editor-in-chief, as well as an assistant clinical professor of science education. She has also been a writer for Neurology Today, an AAN publication, since leaving Newsday. Jamie's experience during GBHI led her to create a lecture series and two online support groups for patients with posterior cortical atrophy, a visual and spatial dementia studied at UCSF. She is very interested in atypical dementias.
