PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

• Award-winning writer focused on health care and science; Expert in a wide range of health topics with experience in communications consulting
• Skilled writer of white papers, op-eds and other thought-leadership pieces for health nonprofits, hospitals, scientific innovators and pharmaceutical companies
• Author of two well-received books on health and wellness; Awarded the Independent Publishers Book Award: Gold Medal in the category of health/medicine/nutrition for the book Heal
• Experienced in AI prompt engineering for research

EXPERIENCE

APCO Worldwide, New York

Freelance Health and Science writer, 2024 to Present; Associate Director and Health Writer, 2022 to 2024

• Wrote and edited health content for hospitals, scientific equipment makers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, health insurers and nonprofits. Wrote white papers about healthcare innovation and health equity, executive speeches, talking points, corporate reports, sponsored content, blog posts, LinkedIn posts and op-eds. Advised clients on content management strategies.
• Ghostwrote articles on behalf of clients that were published in a wide variety of consumer and trade outlets, including STAT, Modern Healthcare, PharmaTimes, Pharmaceutical Executive, Fierce Biotech, MedCityNews, Drug Discovery News and CIO Review.
• Managed a team of writers, matching them with clients’ needs. Mentored junior writers.

Nonprofit Consultant, New York, 2011 to Present

• Gastric Cancer Foundation: Elected to the volunteer Board of Directors in January 2018. Contributed to the launch of the newsletter and continue to write articles about scientific advances, gastric cancer researchers, patients and more.
• Contribute content to increase reach of social media posts and boost awareness. Provide ongoing consulting focused on public affairs strategy and outreach to donors, patients and grant recipients.
• Center for an Urban Future: Wrote two advocacy reports aimed at city and state policymakers: “In Good Health” charted the growth of New York’s digital health sector and advocated for additional funding support for entrepreneurs. The report included input from dozens of technology executives, venture capitalists and academic leaders. “An Unhealthy Commute” advocated for changes in New York’s public transit system to improve commutes, incorporating material from interviews of home health aides, hospital workers and other health providers. “An Unhealthy Commute” generated coverage in several media outlets, including the New York Times.

Freelance Writer and Author, New York, 2010 to 2022

• Wrote science, medicine, technology and business features, which were published by com, U.S. News & World Report,CURE, Bloomberg Businessweek, PBS Next Avenue and others.
• Wrote and edited news, eBooks and special reports about biopharmaceutical trends for Fierce Markets. Wrote and edited Fierce Biotech Research, doubling traffic to the website in the first year after taking over the publication. Wrote feature stories for the Fierce Biotech Cell & Gene Therapy Wrote news and features about the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries for Fierce Pharma. Assembled and moderated panel discussions for the Fierce Biotech Drug Development Forum and webinars held in conjunction with major biopharma conferences.
• Wrote the books Selling the Fountain of Youth: How the Anti-Aging Industry Made a Disease Out of Getting Old—And Made Billions (Basic Books, 2010) and Heal: The Vital Role of Dogs in the Search for Cancer Cures (ECW Press, 2015). Both books received positive reviews from Publishers Weekly, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, New Scientist and others. Heal was named among the “best books about cancer” by Newsweek.
• Promoted the books on TV and radio talk shows. Designed PowerPoint presentations to accompany book presentations at libraries, bookstores and conferences nationwide. Spoke at the Tucson Festival of Books, serving as both a panelist and moderator of discussions featuring high-profile authors. Designed and maintained the promotional WordPress websites for the books.

BusinessWeek Magazine, New York and Los Angeles 2000 to 2010
Correspondent/Department Editor/Associate Editor/Senior Writer

• Reported and wrote news and features, including numerous cover stories, covering pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and health care. Responsibilities included writing in-depth analyses of breaking news events, profiles of prominent executives, book reviews, personal finance pieces and stories about industry trends.
• Investigated financial conflicts in medicine, producing a series of features that included “Medicine in Conflict,” which helped spark a Congressional review.
• Produced original online packages and content to accompany magazine stories, such as slide shows, video interviews and related features. Wrote articles for two management blogs.
• Coordinated with producers of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric to develop print and television stories on important medical topics. Collaborations included “Resveratrol: The Hard Sell on Anti-Aging,” an exposé about scam internet ads for the red-wine supplement (2009); and “Doctors Under the Influence,” covering physicians who failed to disclose financial relationships with drug companies (2008). Appeared on other television and radio programs to discuss science news.
• Edited company profiles, special reports and briefs spotlighting scientific advances.
• Managed the widely read cover package “Hot Growth,” spotlighting the 100 fastest-growing companies of 2005 and 2006. Assigned and edited company profiles, and produced an online slide show containing profiles of all the companies.
• Reported and wrote news and features about the internet and biotechnology industries as a correspondent in the Los Angeles bureau from 2000 to 2004.
• Awards:
  • New York Press Club, Consumer News Award: “Selling the Promise of Youth,” 2007, and “The Digital Hospital,” 2006.
  • Association of Health Care Journalists Award (2nd place): “Selling the Promise of Youth,” 2007.
  • American Society of Business Publication Editors, Individual Profile (silver): “Medicine in Conflict,” 2007.
  • Foundation for Biomedical Research, Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award: “Crossing the Gene Barrier,” 2006.
  • American Society of Business Publication Editors, National Gold Award, Feature Writing: “I Can’t Sleep,” 2005.
  • American Society of Business Publication Editors, Individual Profile (bronze): “Genentech’s Medicine Man,” 2004.

EDUCATION

Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, MS in Journalism

University of Pennsylvania, BA in Communications