Nancy Lynn Snyderman (born March 26, 1952) is an American physician, author, and former broadcast journalist. She served as a medical correspondent for

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

for 15 years, and was the chief medical editor for

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...

from 2006 to 2015, frequently appearing on the ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' show, ''

NBC Nightly News ''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas'' for its weeknight broadcasts ) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NBC television network ...

'' and

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to discuss medical-related issues. Snyderman is also on the staff of the

otolaryngology Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the surgical an ...

-head and neck surgery department at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, located in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. In 2013, Snyderman launched her own website, where she answers health and medical questions. She is a co-founder of CarePlanners, a service that helps people navigate the healthcare system. In 2015, Snyderman left NBC News following a high-profile controversy over violating an Ebola quarantine.

Early life, education, and family

Snyderman was born in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, the daughter of Joy Snyderman, a housewife, and Sanford Snyderman, a physician. She has a younger brother who is a physician as well. She grew up in Ft. Wayne,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, where she graduated from South Side High School in 1970. She attended

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

. Snyderman went on to attend

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

at the

University of Nebraska Medical Center The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a Public university, public Academic health science centre, academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became p ...

, located in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, earning a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

degree from its College of Medicine in 1977. She presently lives in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

with her husband, Doug. She has three children, Kate, Rachel, and Charlie. Snyderman states that she knew already in the third grade that she wanted to be a physician when her father brought her with him on his Sunday hospital rounds. She counts her father and mother and one of her instructors, Eugene Nicholas Myers, the chief of surgery in Pittsburgh, as her mentors. She says that Myers "taught me how to be a really good surgeon. He invested time in me; and it's a lot for him that I vowed no matter what my other careers were, I would never give up medicine." In 2011, while appearing as a panel member discussing rape on the NBC ''Today'' show, Snyderman disclosed that she was raped at gunpoint when she was a sophomore in college. Snyderman stated, "I was attacked in 1970 as a college girl and I did everything wrong. I didn't come forward. I waited too long. And by the time I would have come forward a efense attorneycould have skewered me with questions. So I have great sensitivity for young women who have been raped." She suggested to women: "If you are an adult and you want to take the shame off of rape, one of the bravest things you can do as a woman is to come forward and say I accuse you - and I'm going to do it publicly."

Career

Snyderman followed up her training with

residency Residency may refer to: * Artist-in-residence, a program to sponsor the residence and work of visual artists, writers, musicians, etc. * Concert residency, a series of concerts performed at one venue * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or m ...

in both

pediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...

and

at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

and the

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center UPMC is an American integrated delivery system, integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 100,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and doctors' offices, a ...

in Pennsylvania. She moved to

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, joining the

surgical Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery ...

staff at the

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is a Public university, public medical school in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is part of the University of Arkansas System and consists of six colleges, seven institutes, several research cente ...

in 1983, specializing in throat and neck cancers. She began her broadcasting career in 1984 at

KATV KATV (channel 7) is a television station in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on Riverfront Drive in the Riverdale section northwest of downtown L ...

, the

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affiliate in Little Rock. She served as a medical correspondent for

for 15 years, and was a contributor to ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of visual perception, vision, but technically rates an animal's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity depends on optical and neural factors. Optical factors of the eye ...

'', ''

Primetime Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to b ...

'', and ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

''. Before leaving ABC News, she was a frequent substitute co-host on ''Good Morning America''. Snyderman also served as vice president of

consumer education Consumer education is the preparation of an individual to be capable of making informed decisions when it comes to purchasing products in a consumer culture. It generally covers various consumer goods and services, prices, what the consumer can ...

for the health care corporation

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

, where she headed "Understanding Health", an educational initiative which focused on public education about health and medicine. In 1988, she moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where she practiced head and neck surgery at the University of California San Francisco and California Pacific Medical Center. In the 1990s, Snydermann served as a medical correspondent for

KPIX-TV KPIX-TV (channel 5), branded on-air as CBS Bay Area, is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving as the CBS network outlet for the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS ...

in San Francisco. Snyderman joined NBC News as its chief medical editor in September 2006. Her reports have appeared on ''Today'', '' NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams'', ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' (also known simply as ''Dateline'') is a weekly American television news magazine reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on ...

'', MSNBC and

MSNBC.com MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts ...

. She hosted the

program '' Dr. Nancy'', in 2009. She served as a sports desk reporter for

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...

coverage of both the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. and the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

. She has reported on wide-ranging medical topics affecting both men and women, and has traveled the world extensively, reporting from many of the world's most-troubled areas. In 2013, Snyderman launched her own website where she answers health and medical questions, takes suggestions for upcoming story ideas for NBC, and contributes a daily video and written blog. In 2016, she was named to the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the pharmaceutical company Alkermes. Snyderman is a co-founder of CarePlanners, a service that helps people navigate the healthcare system. She states that she understood the need for a service like CarePlanners after she became responsible for her parents' care in 2005.

Recognition

Snyderman has received numerous awards for her medical broadcast reporting, including several

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

, Edward R. Murrow Award, an Alfred I. duPont Award, and a

Gracie Awards The Gracie Awards are awards presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWM) in the United States, to celebrate and honor programming created for women, by women, and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary contr ...

. In 1986 she received an award for in-depth reporting from KARK-TV, and an Associated Press award for "best documentary" for her work on sex education in Arkansas in 1987. She received the "Distinguished Service Award" from the American Academy of Otolaryngology's Head and Neck Surgery Foundation in 1998. Among many recent honors, in 2001 she received the Athena Award from the Partnership for Women's Health at Columbia University for her work in the field of women's health. Also in 2001, she earned the Trailblazer Award from the American Women in Radio and Television for furthering the knowledge of women's health on a national level. South Side High School Distinguished Alumni Award 1996.

Selective abortion advocacy

Snyderman has stated that she supports selective abortion as a result of the detection of the presence of

congenital disorder A birth defect is an abnormal condition that is present at childbirth, birth, regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disability, disabilities that may be physical disability, physical, intellectual disability, intellectual, or dev ...

s in the

fetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic development, embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Pren ...

before

birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

, proclaiming it to be "the science of today" and "I believe that this is a great way to prevent diseases."

Ebola quarantine

In 2014, after returning from

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

, where she was in contact with a freelance

cameraman A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not necessarily imply that a male is performing the task. ...

who contracted

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...

, Snyderman and the remainder of her crew were asked to observe a voluntary 21-day

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

to minimize the risk of further outbreak. After Snyderman was then seen inside a car, outside a local restaurant, in violation of the quarantine, the state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

issued a mandatory 21-day quarantine for Snyderman and her crew. On March 12, 2015, Snyderman announced she had resigned her position as NBC's Chief Medical Editor due to the controversy over her breaking the quarantine.

Books

* Snyderman, Nancy L.; Blackstone, Margaret (1996). ''Dr. Nancy Snyderman's Guide to Good HealthWhat Every Forty-Plus Woman Should Know about Her Changing Body''. New York City:

William Morrow and Company William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981, and sold to News Corporation (now News Corp) in 1999. The ...

. . * Snyderman, Nancy L.; Streep, Peg (2000). ''Necessary JourneysLetting Ourselves Learn from Life''. New York City: Hyperion Books. . * Snyderman, Nancy L.; Streep, Peg (2002). ''Girl in the MirrorMothers and Daughters in the Years of Adolescence''. New York City: Hyperion Books. . * Snyderman, Nancy L. (2008). ''Medical Myths That Can Kill YouAnd the 101 Truths That Will Save, Extend, and Improve Your Life''. New York City:

Crown Publishers The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded into ...

. . * Snyderman, Nancy L. (2009). ''Diet Myths That Keep Us FatAnd the 101 Truths That Will Save Your WaistlineAnd Maybe Even Your Life''. New York City:

. .

References

External links

*
Biography of Nancy Snyderman
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Snyderman, Nancy 1952 births 20th-century American physicians 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American physicians 21st-century American women writers American broadcast news analysts American columnists American medical writers American women medical writers American television hosts Indiana University Bloomington alumni Johnson & Johnson people Living people MSNBC people NBC News people American otolaryngologists Physicians from Princeton, New Jersey Journalists from St. Louis Physicians from Missouri University of Arkansas at Little Rock people University of Nebraska Medical Center alumni University of Pennsylvania staff Writers from Missouri American women television journalists American women columnists Celebrity doctors 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women physicians 21st-century American women physicians American women television hosts