Hakon Heimer, Executive Editor
SRF editor Hakon Heimer learned the ropes while researching and writing for the Alzheimer Research Forum. In 2002, armed with the donation of the powerful and elegant Alzforum software—and valuable advice from founder June Kinoshita—Heimer set out to find support for a Schizophrenia Research Forum, eventually gaining funding from the National Institute of Mental Health and NARSAD, the Mental Health Research Association.
Before turning full-time to the SRF, Heimer was a free-lance writer/editor specializing in neuroscience and related clinical specialties. In addition to his work for Alzforum, he coordinated media affairs for the American Neurological Association, and wrote for several of the National Institutes of Health, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, the American Brain Tumor Association, and others.
Heimer's path to the journalistic life was typically meandering. He was an undergraduate English major at the University of Virginia, but a chance summer job landed him in a neurobiology of memory laboratory, where the exploration of the brain/mind relationship began to fascinate him. While working variously as a newspaper reporter, copy editor, and lab technician, he boned up on science and soon found himself a neurobiology graduate student at Duke University. Several years later, while doing his dissertation research (correlating appetitive behavioral development in neonatal rats with neuroanatomical and molecular developmental events), Heimer took leave to travel most of the length of the Amazon River as part of a BBC film expedition. At some point as he floated through the jungles of Peru, he realized that he wasn't formatted to be a bench scientist.
After leaving graduate school, Heimer spent several years as the managing editor and senior medical writer for Analytical Sciences, Inc., a contract research organization. He now lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with his wife, the two youngest of his three children, and the bad dog Charley. He dabbles in creative writing and bad tennis.
Angela Epshtein, Managing Editor
Angela is a freelance writer with a background in psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and business management. In addition to working as the managing editor of SRF, Angela creates Web content for small to medium-sized businesses and provides editorial support to professionals looking to publish in healthcare-related publications.
Prior to launching her writing business and joining SRF, Angela directed a New York City-based day treatment program designed to support developmentally disabled adults. She later transitioned into a series of senior management roles at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts.
When she's not writing or reading, Angela enjoys hiking, kayaking, cooking, and organic farming. She lives in Newton, Massachusetts, with her husband Leonid, their two children Sofia and Izi, and their miniature schnauzer Ruby.
Elaine Alibrandi, Developmental/Copy Editor and Web Production Assistant
As a developmental and copy editor, Elaine Alibrandi loves to play "Spot the Error," an annoying habit she decided several years ago to transform into a useful service. She is related to the SRF by marriage--to Tom Fagan (see below). Theirs is primarily a merging of science and art; Elaine is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Art, and exhibits her oil/mixed media paintings at galleries around the country. (See Paintings.)
After college, she worked as a freelance designer for such clients as Legal Seafood, The Players Club, Turtle Lane Playhouse, Shawmut Bank, and the Boston Repertory Theatre. Although the work was interesting, she was dissatisfied with having marketing take precedence over creativity, as it must in commercial design. After a brief detour, during which one of her clients held her hostage for several years in its commercial finance department, she escaped to pursue her freelance editing and writing, which offer hours flexible enough for her to focus on her painting.
Elaine holds a black belt in karate from the Japan Karate Association in Brookline. Her creative writing has been published extensively in literary journals and poetry magazines.
Alden Bumstead, Consulting Editor
Alden Bumstead was involved with the inception of SRF, having been instrumental in the search for funding and institutional support for the website. Besides her work for the Schizophrenia Research Forum, Alden writes grant proposals for small social justice and service organizations. Alden grew up in Washington, DC, and Paris, France, and currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with husband Hakon Heimer, children Kaia and Arlo, and dog Charley.
Jason Darrow, IT Consultant
Born and raised in central Connecticut, Jason holds a B.S.B.A in Management of Information Systems from Northeastern University and an M.S. in Information Technology from Bentley College. He now lives outside of Boston Massachusetts, and makes a living as an IT consultant. In his free time he likes to hike, snowboard, kayak, and play video games with his son Ryan.
Tom Fagan, Science Writer
Tom Fagan is a freelance science writer with a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the National University of Ireland. He has several years' experience as a researcher, first in Japan at Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Company and Osaka Bioscience Institute, then at Harvard University as a post-doctoral fellow and research associate.
Fagan finally decided he'd had enough of bench work and long-term projects with very little light at the end of the tunnel, and needed something that offered more regular rewards. Always an avid reader of science, interested in everything from astronomy to zoology-most of which did not relate to his research projects-he searched for a way to combine those interests with his talent for writing. So, in 2001, he waved goodbye to the bench and started out on a new adventure—spending a summer working on Harvard Medical School's publication, Focus, and launching himself into his present career. Among other freelance assignments, he covers science news for both the Alzheimer Research Forum, and the Schizophrenia Research Forum.
Fagan is no stranger to adventure. He holds a black belt in karate, has cycled to some of the highest mountaintops in the Japanese Alps (beating most of the locals to the trophies), has been inducted into the Cape Horn Association (for those who round the notorious Cape under sail), and is one of the very (mad) few who have sailed in the Southern Ocean, braving its roiling storms and contrary winds for 30 days during leg three of the BT Challenge yacht race. He is also a U.S. Sailing Basic Keelboat Instructor, regularly teaching and volunteering for Piers Park Sailing Center, a nonprofit organization in East Boston. When he is not out doing something crazy, he lives in Stow, Massachusetts, with his wife Elaine, who is an artist and a writer, and their twin cats Bustopher and Bounderby.
Peter Farley, Science Writer
Pete Farley has worked in scientific publishing, editing, and writing for over 20 years, beginning with a stint at the Journal of Neurosurgery in the mid-1980s. He was acquisitions editor in psychology and neuroscience for Sinauer Associates, Inc., and now holds a master's degree in science and medical journalism from Boston University. His freelance articles have appeared in New Scientist, Yale Medicine magazine, The Boston Globe, and Wired magazine.
In addition to his work for SRF, Pete is managing editor of Medicine@Yale, a bimonthly publication of Yale School of Medicine.
In his spare time, Pete plays traditional Irish music on banjo and button accordion. He lives in Connecticut.
Tasha Schlake Festel, Web Producer
Tasha Schlake Festel brings to the Schizophrenia Research Forum many years of Web consulting and Internet marketing experience. She joined the team in October 2006 but was no stranger to the "forum" world, having worked closely with the Alzheimer Research Forum several years before.
In addition to filling the role of Web Producer for Schizophrenia Research Forum, Tasha also works as Internet Marketing Manager at Applied Separations, where she maintains their website and all things e-related. When not working, Tasha takes care of her two kids, Addison and Reid. And by the way, anyone who says that's "not working" has clearly never spent time with her children!
Michael N. Gualtieri, Web Developer/Designer
Mike is part of the SRF technology team. His responsibilities include designing and developing enhancements and new features for the SRF web site. Mike has more than 20 years' experience designing and developing software. He holds a B.S. in computer science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Nico Stanculescu, Event Coordinator
When asked what she does for a living, Nico usually answers, "What do you need?" And it is with that attitude that Nico approaches most projects and searches for solutions. Whether it is marketing events, dealing with vendors, coordinating discussions or finding answers, it's all, according to her, a matter of perfectibility (and not perfection), continuance (against permanence), interdependence (above independence) and, of course, above all, common sense.
Nico lives in Chicago (where she [still] cannot park parallel) and owns a meeting and event planning company, World Events Forum, Inc..
Victoria L. Wilcox, Independent Medical Writer
Victoria Wilcox, a medical psychologist and gerontologist, chose a career as an independent medical writer after pursuing opportunities too good to pass up in academia. Her freelance work has focused on writing feature articles for the general public, research news stories for scientists and clinicians, and brochures and Web site text for medical practices. Her writing often draws on the experience she gained conducting research as a faculty member at Brown University Medical School and as a postdoctoral fellow in epidemiology at Yale University School of Medicine. Her stint as an editor in a ramshackle building at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research helped her grow as a writer.
Before joining the SRF community, Wilcox covered research news for The Brown University Geriatric Psychopharmacology Update, as well as The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update, which earned a 2006 Apex Award for Publication Excellence in Newsletter Writing with her as lead medical writer. Her published work includes articles on health topics for the Providence Journal and on mental health research for the NARSAD Web site. A mix of genres, from medical book chapters to magazine articles, humor, and poetry, rounds out her portfolio. As an editor, she helped shape two volumes on military psychiatry for the Textbook of Military Medicine series.
Wilcox's office overlooks wetlands in Greenville, Rhode Island. There she relishes writing full-time after trying for a while to balance her writing with community service. Her community work included six years on the Rhode Island Governor's Commission on Disabilities. Wilcox hails from Omaha, Nebraska, a place full of friendly people, and has always felt at home in the Colorado Rockies.
C Knep, Web Developer Emeritus
C Knep helped adapt the Alzheimer Research Forum technology for SRF, and continues to work for Alzforum.
Paula Noyes, Producer Emeritus
With her experience as producer for Alzheimer Research Forum, Paula Noyes helped guide us through our first year. She is now Alzforum's Executive Producer.
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