Jon Hamilton
Jon Hamilton is a correspondent for NPR's Science Desk. Currently he focuses on neuroscience and health risks.
In 2014, Hamilton went to Liberia as part of the NPR team that covered Ebola. The team received a Peabody Award for its coverage.
Following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Hamilton was part of NPR's team of science reporters and editors who went to Japan to cover the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
Hamilton contributed several pieces to the Science Desk series "The Human Edge," which looked at what makes people the most versatile and powerful species on Earth. His reporting explained how humans use stories, how the highly evolved human brain is made from primitive parts, and what autism reveals about humans' social brains.
In 2009, Hamilton received the Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award for his piece on the neuroscience behind treating autism.
Before joining NPR in 1998, Hamilton was a media fellow with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation studying health policy issues. He reported on states that have improved their Medicaid programs for the poor by enrolling beneficiaries in private HMOs.
From 1995-1997, Hamilton wrote on health and medical topics as a freelance writer, after having been a medical reporter for both The Commercial Appeal and Physician's Weekly.
Hamilton graduated with honors from Oberlin College in Ohio with a Bachelor of Arts in English. As a student, he was the editor of the Oberlin Review student newspaper. He earned his master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, where he graduated with honors. During his time at Columbia, Hamilton was awarded the Baker Prize for magazine writing and earned a Sherwood traveling fellowship.
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In March, experts who advise the FDA questioned the efficacy of an experimental new drug for ALS. In September, they voted to approve it anyway.
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A company started by two scientists has developed a hard hat that will do a better job protecting workers from on-the-job brain injuries. (Story aired on All Things Considered on Sept. 9, 2022.)
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Three sisters set out to learn why many of the people in their family develop Alzheimer's disease in middle age — and what they can do about it.
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An atlas showing how Alzheimer's changes individual brain cells could help researchers find new treatments for the disease.
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Because people with Down syndrome are very likely to develop Alzheimer's, they are ideal candidates for experimental drugs meant to halt the disease.
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Some monkeys make complex vocalizations, others don't. The reason why could help explain how the human brain evolved to produce speech. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on June 21, 2022.)
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A team at the University of Pittsburgh is equipping artificial hands and feet with sensors that are linked to a person's own nervous system. Preliminary results, though limited, are promising.
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People who sustain a concussion can develop an unusual hearing problem. Their ears work fine, but their brain struggles to process sounds. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on Nov. 3, 2021.)
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Medicare officials announced on Thursday that the health insurance program for older Americans will sharply limit coverage of a costly and controversial new Alzheimer's drug.
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A study of more than 120,000 brain scans shows rapid growth before age 2 and accelerating decline after age 50. The results may one day help pick up abnormalities in the developing brain.