Writing
Photo by Erik Dinnel
Allen Institute
From 2018 to 2023, I was the sole science writer and editor for the Allen Institute, a life sciences nonprofit in Seattle that studies the brain, the cell and the immune system. I covered science news from all 5 science divisions and wrote and produced more than 200 stories, press releases, podcast episodes and newsletters in my tenure at the Institute. My work at the Institute was recognized with regional and national science writing awards. Here are a few of my favorite written pieces from that time:
Aging is evolutionary, according to a new molecular ‘clock’ that predicts age in all mammals 2023
News story covering two studies from aging researcher Steve Horvath describing a tool that accurately predicts age across 185 species of mammals.Long COVID's long fallout 2023
I profiled two patients who have been living with long COVID for years.Meet the machines that are helping us understand the brain 2023
A multimedia feature story about some really cool machines, produced for Brain Awareness Week 2023.
A mysterious brain region: the claustrum 2023
The brain is mysterious, but some parts are extra mysterious. I wrote about two studies of the claustrum, a tiny structure nestled under the cortex.Why is the human brain so difficult to understand? We asked 4 neuroscientists. 2022
I asked several neuroscientists to explain why their field of study is so darn complicated. See also related podcast episode.Naked mole rats don’t show signs of old age, but their DNA says otherwise 2021
Honorable mention, National Association of Science Writers' Excellence in Institutional Writing Awards, 2022Random chance in early brain development sets adult fruit flies’ personalities 2020
Honorable mention, National Association of Science Writers' Excellence in Institutional Writing Awards, 2021This is what it's like to donate your brain to science 2019
I profiled Casey Schorr, a young epilepsy patient who donated some of his brain tissue to research.
Winner, Northwest Science Writers Association's Best of the Northwest award, Institutional writing category, 2020
Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Center
Cancer Center
From 2009 to 2018, I was a writer and editor at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, a Seattle health research nonprofit and cancer center. My work ranged from writing feature stories for the Hutch's print magazine to online news stories to editing manuscripts for scientific teams. My primary beat was the Basic Sciences Division but I frequently covered infectious disease and cancer research as well. Some sample clips:
When scientific hypotheses don’t pan out 2018
I talked to scientists, including the PI of the SELECT and CARET trials that found that high doses of certain vitamins raise rather than lower cancer risk, about what happens when their favored hypothesis turns out to be wrong.One family, two sides of cancer 2017
Basic scientist Wenying Shou's parents went through cancer treatment with very different results. I profiled the scientist and both cancer survivors in this feature story.Backyard viruses of the Pacific Northwest 2017
Infectious disease scientist Alex Greninger was determined to sequence every virus he could get his hands on.A boy, his chicken and a bone marrow transplant 2017
I profiled Andrew Adams, an autistic young man who survived a rare genetic immune disorder thanks to an experimental transplant.A ‘selfish gene’ that poisons its own host 2017
A news story covering a study on a cheekily named selfish gene in yeast.
Photo by Bo Jungmayer
Common cold can be surprisingly dangerous for transplant patients 2017
Rhinovirus can be deadly for the immunocompromised. News article resulted in coverage in U.S. News & World Report.Malaria during pregnancy can alter babies’ immunity 2017
Story about a study showing that malaria infection can render the placenta more porous, allowing more maternal cells to traffic to the fetus.A little card with a big task: Saving lives from CML, 2016
Story about a new method to detect chronic myeloid leukemia at low cost. Article resulted in coverage in New York Times.Rock star women in science (with Mary Engel) 2016
Platinum award, 2016 MarCom AwardsLife with graft-vs.-host disease: When the transplant is just the beginning 2015
Feature story highlights Greg Grappone, a young cancer survivor who was suffering with debilitating side effects of his transplant, and what researchers are doing to combat GVHD.MacGyvering lab equipment 2015
I found several examples of homemade equipment in the labs of Fred Hutch and wrote a feature story about the scientists who made them.
Other writing
I've also written for Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UCSF, the University of Washington, the Loh Down on Science (public radio), The Scientist, Mongabay, Virginia Mason Hospital, Xconomy Seattle, Cancer Discovery, the Monterey Herald, Modernist Cuisine (multi-volume molecular gastronomy cookbook), and others. Sample clips:
Wild Microbiome Stems Tumorigenesis in Lab Mice, Cancer Discovery, 2018
See other news brief articles I wrote for the journal Cancer Discovery here.'Astronaut food approach' to medical testing, UW News, 2009
Dehydrated, wallet-sized malaria tests promise better diagnoses in developing world. See all my articles for UW News here.A must-see spot — if you're a Berkeley bee, The Berkleyan, 2009
Gordon Frankie's Oxford Street garden is a popular stop for dozens of native bee species — and a laboratory for learning what plants they preferThis is your brain on adolescence, UC Berkeley news, 2008
MRI studies of teenage brain show why kids act before they thinkRoads are a major killer of amphibians, reveals study, Mongabay, 2008
The secret love lives of octopi, Monterey Herald, 2008
See all my articles for the Monterey Herald here.