Editor’s note: Due to the spread of COVID-19, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona on March 13 has cancelled all public events through April 16.
Tucson Maimonides Society’s March presentation sounds like it comes straight from the set of a television medical drama. Indeed, speaker Allan Hamilton, M.D., is a long-time senior medical script consultant and even an actor on shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Practice,” and the big-screen film “Patriot’s Day.”
“Criminal Intent: What We Can Learn from the Minds of Psychopaths and Serial Killers” will be Hamilton’s topic for the society’s dinner March 16.
“For the first time, imaging technology permits us to look into the human brain and see, in real-time, what happens when people think,” says Hamilton. “But what differences do we see when we peer into the minds and evaluate the thinking of psychopaths, serial killers, and rapists?”
Hamilton will describe startling findings, what makes us different from such criminal personalities and sometimes, a little similar. He will review some of the latest data on what makes a person a psychopath and recap some cases that reveal what it takes to create the mind of a serial killer.
Hamilton is a Harvard-trained brain surgeon, a celebrated speaker, and an award-winning writer. His books, which include “Lead with Your Heart: Lessons from a Life with Horses,” “The Scalpel and the Soul” and “Younger Next Year,” have won numerous awards, including the Nautilus Gold Award for works of spiritual nonfiction that “change the world one book at a time.”
At the University of Arizona, Hamilton is the executive director at the Arizona Stimulation Technology and Education Center, a clinical professor in radiation oncology, and holds professorships in surgery, psychology, and electrical and computer engineering.
His research involves emerging technologies and methodologies to assist physicians, healthcare professionals, and healthcare delivery systems in eliminating preventable adverse medical events; quality assurance in human systems and performance; development of informatics, artificial intelligence, “smart” artificial tissues, and robotics; and “hard” versus “thick” data analysis.
He also is involved in developing new technologies for safer surgery, innovative methods for training interprofessional healthcare teams, and new ways to create patient-specific anatomical models to provide surgeons a better understanding of what a surgical procedure will require to produce the safest and most efficient outcomes.
Additionally, Hamilton is a world-renowned horse whisperer and trainer. He and his wife, clinical psychologist Dr. Jane Hamilton, give clinics throughout the United States and abroad. They have written and taught extensively about the Neuro-Equine Model©, and how the deep emotional bond between horse and human develops.
The Tucson Maimonides Society is dedicated to educational, social, and philanthropic activities under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. It supports Jewish life in Southern Arizona, Israel, and throughout the world to mobilize healthcare professionals to serve as a resource for the Jewish and general communities.
The dinner is 6 p.m. Monday, March 16, at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy, 3718 E. River Road. Cost is $45, $21 for interns and medical residents, and free for medical students. RSVP by March 9 at www.jfsa.org/maimonidesspring2020 or email apro@jfsa.org, or call 647-8455. Spouses and partners are invited.
