"(Suicide is) a major public health epidemic that not many people want to talk about," she said.
Jamison, author or co-author of five books and many scientific articles regarding psychological topics, spoke to students in the University's Department of Psychiatry about the biological aspects of suicide.
"College students don't have the forum to learn about depression," she said.
"Universities are just now trying to become proactive in dealing with depression and suicide."
But Jamison is also comfortable communicating her subject matter through literature. Jamison recently published "Night Falls Fast," a nonfiction examination of suicide that draws from sources ranging from scientific journals to writers such as Edgar Allen Poe.
Jamison said the tour of college campuses is important to her because it allows her to connect to one of the biggest demographics of suicide victims.
"I had asked my publisher if, instead of just going to bookstores, I could go to universities," she said. "I'm a great believer in the idea that students should be the ones to know (the facts about suicide)."
Jamison said she wanted the book to be scientifically sound but read by people who weren't in the psychiatric or medical communities, which she said was a difficult balance to strike.
To establish a middle ground between readability and scientific thoroughness, Jamison used more than 100 pages of endnotes, referencing scientific journals, newspaper articles and even the works of literary figures who attempted suicide.
