NINDS Alumnus Hessie Mourned

Bettie Jean Hessie, 78, who retired from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in 1999 after 34 years as a medical writer and consultant, passed away peacefully on Dec. 21, 2016.  

Born in Comus, Md., she graduated cum laude from American University with a B.S. in distributed science-biology.

During her NIH career, she worked with authors and editors in the publication of more than 40 books in biomedical sciences and edited more than 1,000 journal articles, book chapters and abstracts, speeches and brochures. She also taught biomedical writing to NIH scientists from around the world.  

Hessie also co-authored a book on antiepileptic drugs. She served on the epilepsy advisory committee and helped organize the 15th Epilepsy International Symposium in D.C., in 1983.

She was a member of the American Medical Writers Association, Council of Biology Editors and the Washington Society for the History of Medicine.

In retirement, Hessie volunteered at Arena Stage and WAMU-FM. She also enjoyed traveling and attending National Symphony Orchestra concerts.