Microsoft Word gbhi-jt-bio docx

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Jamie Talan, MPH 

 

Atlantic Fellow at GBHI 

UCSF Memory and Aging Center 

Home Country: USA 

Field of Employment: Neuroscience Journalism 

 

[e-mail] 

Professional Profile 

 

Key Areas: journalism, storytelling, neuroscience, 

posterior cortical atrophy 

 

Jamie Talan has spent her career writing about 

the brain, and in particular Alzheimer’s disease. 

Talan has watched and chronicled the 

advances, the setbacks, the ah ha moments, 

the controversies, the potential drug targets, 

and the near misses—and she always comes 

back to the promise of science and what is 

possible. She believes there is a lot that people 

can do to prevent cognitive decline, and she is 

particularly interested in mental fitness 

programs. Talan joined GBHI to test the 

effectiveness of such programs to strengthen 

cognitive processes. She is also interested in 

narrative medicine with a focus on art and 

storytelling, which she believes will give voice to 

the disease. 

Bio: Jamie Talan spent the first 25 years of her 

career as a science writer at Newsday, 

specializing in neurology. She left Newsday to start an art and literary journal, 

Narrateur, at the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, where she is an assistant 

professor of science education. Since 2008, she has also been a science writer for 

Neurology Today, which is part of the American Academy of Neurology. She lives in 

Boise, Idaho. 

 

“ 

Telling stories about 

dementia is critical to 

humanizing the 

condition and 

enhancing our 

understanding and 

empathy for those 

affected.