Twelve Science and Health Journalists Receive Research Fellowships at MBL

Contact: Diana Kenney 508-289-7139; dkenney@mbl.edu

WOODS HOLE, Mass. – Twelve journalists have been awarded Logan Science Journalism Fellowships from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), an international center for biological and environmental research and education and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.

Now in its 33nd year, the Logan Science Journalism Program (SJP) allows established science and health journalists to experience the life of a scientist through immersion in hands-on research training at the MBL. The program, which offers fellows the choice of a biomedical or an environmental research course, will run from May 29 to June 6 in Woods Hole.

2018 Biomedical Fellows (from left) Macon Morehouse, Shayla Love, and Irene Rodríguez-Salas in their research lab. Credit: Tara Haelle

The 2019 Logan Science Journalism Program Fellows are:

Biomedical Fellows

Harini Barath, Freelance Journalist, based in New Hampshire

Meclina Chirwa, Health Journalist, Timveni Radio and Television, Malawi, Africa

Mélissa Guillemette, Reporter, Quebec Science Magazine

Nicole Maranhas, Writer and Editor, University of Rhode Island

Christie Taylor, Associate Producer, Science Friday

Olivia Willis, Health Reporter, Australian Broadcast Corp.

Environmental Fellows

Pakinam Amer, Chief Editor, Nature Middle East

Olga Dobrovidova, Senior Editor, N+1, Moscow, Russia

Richard Kemeny, Independent Science and Technology Journalist, based in São Paulo, Brazil

Sarah Mizes-Tan, Reporter, WCAI (Cape Cod and Islands NPR)

Lucy Sherriff, Freelance Multimedia Journalist, based in Los Angeles

Catherine Wise, Independent Producer and Special Correspondent, PBS NewsHour

2018 Environmental Fellows Katie Bourzac and Mićo Tatalović during fieldwork at a Cape Cod estuary. Credit: Javier Lloret

In the Biomedical Hands-On Research Course, fellows learn the fundamental approaches that underpin current biomedical science. Using both classical and marine model organisms, fellows learn essential techniques and concepts in cell, molecular, and developmental biology and genomics.

The Environmental Hands-On Research Course fellows conduct field research at a barrier beach, saltmarsh and watershed ecosystem on Cape Cod. They discover the complex ways that added nitrogen alters coastal ecosystems, including their capacity to keep up with sea-level rise and impacts on marine life and coastal food webs.

The fellows present their data at a mini-symposium at the close of the fellowship. They also have opportunities to explore the rich scientific resources in Woods Hole.

The Biomedical Hands-On Research Course is co-directed by Charles “Brad” Shuster, Ph.D., of New Mexico State University and Phong Tran, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. The course’s journalism advisor is Maryn McKenna, science journalist, author, and senior fellow, Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University.

The Environmental Hands-On Research Course is directed by Anne Giblin, Ph.D., MBL Senior Scientist and Interim Director of the Ecosystems Center. Science journalist/producer Angela Posada-Swafford, a U.S. correspondent for Madrid’s Muy Interesante Magazine, is the course’s journalism advisor.

Over the years, the Logan Science Journalism Program has granted fellowships to hundreds of journalists from prominent news organizations, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Science, National Public Radio, The Washington Post, USA Today, CNN, and Scientific American.

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The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery – exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.

The Logan Science Journalism Program is sponsored by: George & Helen H.B. Logan; Friends and Alumni of the Science Journalism Program; Golden Family Foundation; Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Irving Weinstein Foundation, Inc.; Ross Foundation; and the Byron H. Waksman Fund for Excellence in Science Communication.