Marilyn J. Telen Oral History Interview, 2021

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Summary

Creator:
Duke University. Medical Center. Department of Medicine.
Abstract:
Dr. Marilyn J. Telen, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology, specializes in laboratory and clinical research on sickle cell disease and is the Director of the Duke Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on April 21, 2021 by Joseph O'Connell as part of the Department of Medicine's Oral History Project. In the interview, Telen discusses her path to medicine after a first career in nonfiction publishing, her relationship with mentors and research collaborators at Duke, and her thoughts on the history of women in medicine. The themes of this interview includes medical training, hematology, and academic medical research.
Extent:
1 interview (1 transcript) and 846 MB
Collection ID:
OH.TELENM

Background

Scope and content:

Includes 1 oral history interview conducted on April 21, 2021 with Dr. Marilyn J. Telen by Joseph O'Connell as part of the Department of Medicine's Oral History Project.

In the interview, Telen discusses her path to medicine after a first career in nonfiction publishing, her relationship with mentors and research collaborators at Duke, and her thoughts on the history of women in medicine. The themes of this interview includes medical training, hematology, and academic medical research.

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Marilyn Jo Telen, MD, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the second of two daughters. A few years later her family moved to Woodmere-a suburb of New York City on Long Island. Her mother was a teacher, and her father was an optometrist. Telen's grandparents immigrated to the United States from Europe. Her mother's family was from Khotin, Moldova, and her father's family was from Ukraine.

In college, Telen majored in Philosophy and Asian Studies. After graduation, she began a career in nonfiction publishing, working as Asian and Soviet Bloc editor of Collier's Encyclopedia Yearbook. She soon realized it was difficult for women to get promoted to the next higher position and decided to find another job. Telen's next job was with a small company that produced multimedia educational materials, which at the time were film strips and workbooks. It was around this time that Telen had a chance conversation with a college friend that made her think about applying her communication and analytical skills to a career in medicine, which she felt would be more personally satisfying than working in editing.

Telen returned to school to complete prerequisites at the City University of New York and Columbia University. Telen received her MD from New York University (1977). She completed her Internship and Residency in Medicine at State University of New York, Buffalo (1977-1980) before coming to Duke University School of Medicine for her Fellowship in Hematology/Oncology (1980-1983). Telen joined the faculty at Duke as an Associate in the Department of Medicine in 1983. Later becoming an Associate Professor in Medicine and the Chief of the Division of Hematology in the Department of Medicine.

Telen was drawn to Duke by opportunities to participate in ongoing hematology and immunology research, including in the laboratory of Dr. Wendell Ross. She enjoys the hands on part of research, which is why she decided to focus on research over clinical care. Telen is a renowned expert in blood group antigens and sickle cell disease. She specializes in laboratory and clinical research on sickle cell disease and is an expert in the biochemistry and molecular genetics of blood group antigens and the pathophysiological mechanisms of vaso-occlusion in sickle cell disease. Telen is the Director of the Duke Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center.

Acquisition information:
Accession A2021.045 (transferred by Joseph O'Connell, May 2021)
Processing information:

Processed by Lucy Waldrop: June 2021

Arrangement:
Organized into the following series: Interview, April 21, 2021.
Rules or conventions:
DACS

Subjects

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Personal Name(s):
Telen, Marilyn J.
Corporate Name(s):
Duke University. Medical Center
Duke University. Medical Center. Department of Medicine
Topical Term(s):
Faculty.
Hematology.
Anemia, Sickle Cell.
Research.
Physicians, Women.

Contents

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Restrictions:

None.

Terms of access:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Marilyn J. Telen Oral History Interview, Duke University Medical Center Archives.