Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D., a brain scientist who experienced a debilitating stroke and then fully recovered, will speak Aug. 4 at the Health Science Center.
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Best-selling author and brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D., will give a free public presentation about her personal and professional experiences with stroke at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio.

Health screenings and a free stroke prevention kit will be available prior to the lecture from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. This community education initiative is presented by Baptist Health System, The Brain & Stroke Network and Health Science Center’s Department of Neurosurgery.

‘My Stroke of Insight’
Dr. Taylor is the New York Times bestselling author of “My Stroke of Insight” and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2008. She was interviewed on the Oprah Winfrey Show and has been a featured guest on Oprah’s Soul Series Webcast.

Stroke third-leading cause of death in U.S.
According to the American Stroke Association, stroke is the third-leading cause of death in the United States and is caused by a blood clot obstruction or a blood vessel rupture that prevents blood flow to the brain. Symptoms include sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, particularly on one side of the body; confusion; trouble speaking, understanding, seeing or walking; loss of balance or coordination; dizziness; or a severe headache with no known cause.

Dr. Taylor’s debilitating stroke
In 1996 at 37 years of age, Dr. Taylor awoke to discover she was suffering from an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) stroke that caused a large blood clot to form on the left side of her brain. She became unable to speak, write, read, walk or recall any memory.

Remarkable recovery
After eight years of therapy and documenting her recovery from perspectives as a patient and scientist, Dr. Taylor, a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist, has become the preeminent speaker on stroke. Through public speaking and publishing, she promotes healthy ways to create positive attitudes and behaviors to support an individual’s physical and emotional well being.

National spokesperson
She is the national spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center and is the president of the Greater Bloomington affiliate of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Bloomington, Ind.

In her early career, Dr. Taylor specialized in the postmortem investigation of the human brain as it relates to schizophrenia and severe mental illness. Because her brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, Dr. Taylor has served on the NAMI board of directors.

For more information about Dr. Taylor, visit her Web site, www.drjilltaylor.com. For more information about strokes and how to prevent them, visit www.strokeassociation.org.