Arun Talkad, M.D.

"I was born in India but grew up in St. Louis.  Actually I thought I'd return there after completing my OSF residency and fellowship.  But here we are advancing at such a rapid pace, there's no where else I'd rather be.

"I can't remember ever wanting to be anything but a doctor.  Except a football player maybe, and considering my size, that probably wouldn't have been a good idea!

"Neurology was my choice of specialty because it's so exciting.  It's the last frontier of medicine.  We know so much about the human body but there's still so much to learn about the brain:  what makes us....us?  That's why this field is so fascinating...and daunting.

"A stroke occurs every 43 seconds in this country.  It's the #1 cause of death and #3 cause of disability.  Yet, prior to 12 years ago, we really didn't have effective methods for handling stroke.  With new and  aggressive treatments available for patients today, we can make a huge dent in reducing disabilities and saving more lives."