I'm a public information officer at UC San Francisco, where I work with researchers in stem cell biology, human genetics, drug development, cancer research, and other fields to share their fundamental discoveries and clinical insights with the public. My background is in brains and biology, but as a freelance writer and podcaster I have covered subjects ranging from food security to galactic collisions. I am a graduate of the UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Program.
Featured Clips:
Edges of Extinction
Science Notes
August, 2015 ›
PAST A GATE covered in brambles and down a faint path blocked here and there by fallen trees lies a small pond caked with algae and surrounded by gray willows. By the edge of the pond, Barry Sinervo carefully inserts a cable into the rear of a lifelike pale green gelatin frog. His student, Anna Ringelman, stands by taking notes.
Science
March 05, 2015 ›
KILLER WHALES wouldn't get far without their old ladies. A 9-year study of orcas summering off the southern tip of Vancouver Island in the Pacific Northwest finds that menopausal females usually lead their families to find salmon, particularly when the fish are scarce. Older females’ years of foraging experience may help their clans survive in years of famine.....
'Exploding' number of transgender children, parents seek clinical help
The San Jose Mercury News
June 05, 2015 ›
AMERICA IS IN TRANSITION. As transgender issues go mainstream in the news and on TV, professionals who work with transgender children and their families have seen a huge growth in the number of families seeking advice -- and sometimes medical intervention -- to help kids whose genders and bodies simply don't match up....
About Me:
Having grown up a bookish kid with a love of words, history and drama, I surprised my family by studying neuroscience. To me, it made sense. Language, art, civilization—all arise from this web of tangled neurons, puffing away in their tantalizing chemical language.
In graduate school I studied learning. How do experiences engrave themselves into the brain’s shifting patterns of connectivity? Eventually my own brain learned that I enjoyed telling the stories of science more than creating them myself. I became the nerve center for a network of neurobloggers and podcasters, carving the message home.
Now that I’ve traded pipette and microscope for notebook and microphone, I can record the drama of discovery and probe the space between human and nature. I've returned to the love of words and stories that enriched my childhood.