Resume
I graduated from Dartmouth College in 2017 as a neuroscience major. During my three gap years between college and medical school, I worked as a clinical research coordinator for the Harvard Aging Brain Study (HABS), a longitudinal study focused on Alzheimer’s disease; I conducted research on the neuropsychiatric symptoms of preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease in collaboration with Dr. Nancy Donovan, a Geriatric Psychiatrist and HABS co-investigator; and I worked as a crisis counselor and ambassador for “Crisis Text Line,” an online platform that provides support for people in distress. Since 2019, I’ve also been a board member for “Wake Up Narcolepsy,” a non-profit organization dedicated to patient advocacy, support, education, research funding, and increased narcolepsy awareness.
I’m currently in my 4th year at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and am interested in pursuing a medical career at the intersection of psychiatry, neuroscience, and immunology. I plan to apply to psychiatry residency programs in Fall 2024 and hope to provide mental healthcare to adolescents and adults living with chronic health conditions, in particular autoimmune and neurologic diseases. I’m passionate about increasing awareness and representation of individuals with chronic illness and disabilities in medicine and making the medical field more inclusive, supportive and accessible to individuals of all backgrounds and abilities. My passion for disability advocacy largely stems from my personal experience living with narcolepsy and chronic pain and at HMS, I co-lead the student group HMS Student Alliance for Chronic Illness, Health Conditions & Disabilities (HACHD), which has built a community to connect, support and mentor HMS students with disability identities; I’m one of two HMS student representatives for the Harvard University-Wide Student Accessibility Advisory Group, which incorporates student perspectives to help identify and expand initiatives that promote accessibility and inclusion across all Harvard institutions; and I’m on the editorial team for Unconditional Publishing, a multimedia platform that elevates the stories of medical trainees living with illness and disability.
If you are interested in learning more about my work, or having me speak at your organization, feel free to send me an email at kdbiddle@hms.harvard.edu.
Talks, Podcasts & Essays
“Take Back Your Power”
Speaking at the Jazz Pharmaceuticals 2020 Sales Meeting
Speaking at the 2019 World Sleep Congress Meeting
I’m working to increase awareness of narcolepsy, both to destigmatize this underrecognized and misunderstood disease, and to empower individuals living with narcolepsy to embrace their vulnerability, strength and resilience to pursue their passions.
I presented my talk, “Take Back Your Power,” at the World Sleep Congress in Vancouver, BC in September of 2019, and at Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ January 2020 Sales Meeting, and I’d love to share my story with your organization. My talk describes how I lost then found my confidence, identity, and “power” when I was diagnosed with type 1 narcolepsy with cataplexy in January of 2018.
Through this talk, I hope to empower anyone who has experienced a challenge or loss to reflect on how challenges can shape our identity and create the potential for growth. I also hope to destigmatize narcolepsy, a commonly misunderstood disease, and encourage others to open up about their personal challenges.
You can read the feedback from my first talk by clicking here and you can find a detailed description of my talk along with photos for publicizing events here. My Jazz talk is not publically available, but if you would like to view it, please contact me below.
I live in Boston and you can contact me at kdbiddle@hms.harvard.edu. I look forward to hearing from you.
Click below to watch a recording of my talk, or you can take a look at the PDF by clicking here.
Narcolepsy 360 Podcast Interview
Click here to listen to my podcast interview with Claire Crisp.
In this Narcolepsy 360 podcast episode, I chat with Claire Crisp, the executive director of Wake Up Narcolepsy, about my experience living with type 1 narcolepsy. During our conversation, I open up about what it’s like to accept a lifelong diagnosis, to learn to manage it, then successfully adapt to find a “new normal.” You can listen to my interview with Claire on the Narcolepsy 360 podcast here (for other listening options: iTunes | Stitcher |Overcast | Google Play | Spotify).
In this podcast I talk about:
Grieving the loss of your former identity.
Finding a job and schedule that works for you.
Saying “no” to activities that worsen symptoms.
Finding new purpose and meaning in life.
Self-care and wake-promoting strategies.
What my “tired” feels like — and how it’s different than “normal” tired.
What to say to someone with narcolepsy, and how you can be helpful.
If you’re interested in learning about narcolepsy, or hearing other stories and perspectives, you can find more Narcolepsy 360 podcast episodes here.
Media
Living with Narcolepsy, Running for a Cure
I was diagnosed with narcolepsy in under 6 weeks, and as a neuroscience major and daughter of an immune therapy scientist, I was in the “right place at the right time” to be the first, human subject in a novel treatment. In this essay, I tell my story to raise awareness about this underrecognized disease and announce my plans to run the 2019 Boston Marathon in support of “Wake Up Narcolepsy”.
Recognized by Beth Israel Deaconess for Marathon Fundraiser
Newly diagnosed with type 1 narcolepsy with cataplexy, Kelsey Biddle, a 23-year-old grateful patient of BIDMC neurologist Thomas E. Scammell, M.D., ran the 2019 Boston Marathon (above), raising more than $56,000 to support the nonprofit foundation Wake Up Narcolepsy.
A Comedy of Errors: Ode to Joy’s Inaccurate Portrayal of Narcolepsy
Ode to Joy is a romantic comedy about a person living with narcolepsy with cataplexy. As a person living with this chronic neurological disorder and board member for Wake Up Narcolepsy, I share my perspective on why this movie is problematic.
Testimonials
“I related to so much of what you had to share with the audience. I now feel more compelled to be vulnerable and share my own story. Thank you, Kelsey.”
“Very capable speaker. You could sell water to a well.”
“The honesty of the presentation was amazing. I loved the quote about how when someone combines intelligence and discipline anything is possible. The slides were beautiful and did not distract from the oration. ”
“Highly applicable to everyone since we all deal with something. Inspired me to speak up more with my story.”
