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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Scientists have pinpointed a special part of the brain that, when stimulated, appears to produce out-of-body experiences.
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The Food and Drug Administration may soon grant full approval to an Alzheimer's drug. When it does, Medicare will start more widely covering the costly drug — but hurdles to access remain.
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The Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant full approval to the Alzheimer's drug lecanemab by July 6. But access to the drug may still be limited. -
Diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's spread like a fire through the brain. Scientists think they may know how that fire starts. (Story aired on All Things Considered on June 19, 2023.)
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Diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's spread through the brain like a forest fire. A new study suggests how the fire starts. -
Researchers say they've found a way to boost memories, which could help people struggling with memory loss from Alzheimer's disease or dementia. (Story aired on All Things Considered on June 1, 2023.)
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Scientists have shown that deep brain stimulation during sleep can help people retain new information. The approach could help people with memory problems related to disorders like Alzheimer's. -
During sleep, the brain strengthens memories it expects to use in the future. Now, scientists say they've found a way to enhance this process. This research might someday help people with memory loss.
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Adolescence can be a challenging time, but to a brain scientist it's a marvel — a time of breathtaking development. Scientists are learning a lot about how teenagers make decisions and approach risk.
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For parents of teenagers, adolescence can be challenging, but to a brain scientist it's a time of breathtaking development. And it's a "window of opportunity" on the way to becoming an adult.
