A research and clinical physician from 1974 until 2002 at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, Jan retired from neurodevelopmental pediatrics due to a muscular disease. She has been a seri...view moreA research and clinical physician from 1974 until 2002 at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, Jan retired from neurodevelopmental pediatrics due to a muscular disease. She has been a serious student of poetry and photography since her early years, having been inspired by the poetry of her cousin, Randall Jarrell (1914–1965).
She obtained a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970; she studied writing there with the author Joseph Heller and biology with Lewis G. Tilney. She earned an MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1974. She has been married since 1982 to Milton J. Finegold, MD, and lives in Houston with him and their dachshund, Beatrix.view less