Writing Portfolio

This is a sampling of some of my recent and not-so-recent science writing, which should give a sense of some of the areas I’ve covered and some of the publications in which my work has appeared. I’m happy to provide PDFs on request. You can also view my profile on Google Scholar.

If you have a potential assignment or would like to see some additional clips, please contact me.

	Nature – “Catching proteins at play: the method revealing the cell’s inner mysteries” Cryo-electron tomography is a hugely promising tool in visual proteomics — if researchers can work out what they are seeing.
	Nature Biotechnology – “AI-enhanced protein design makes proteins that have never existed” Protein engineers are drawing on rapidly evolving machine learning tools, deep reservoirs of data, and the structure-predicting firepower of AlphaFold2 to pursue more sophisticated de novo protein designs.
	Nature Methods – “A sound solution for deep-brain imaging” Ultrasound-based modalities are revealing the brain’s inner workings with steadily increasing speed, resolution and depth.
	Nature – “Every base everywhere all at once – pangenomics comes of age” Multi-genome assemblies called pangenomes can capture genetic diversity in a species, but researchers are still working out how best to build and explore them.
	Nature Biotechnology – “Illumina faces short-read rivals” New sequencers are poised to disrupt Illumina’s dominance. Users will need to navigate the opportunities and challenges on offer in an increasingly crowded market.
	Nature – “Seven technologies to watch in 2023” Nature’s pick of tools and techniques that are poised to have an outsized impact on science in the coming year.
	Nature – “Short-circuiting the electronic waste crisis” The computers, smartphones and other technologies that define modern life are creating waste across the world. A combination of technological and policy solutions could help to limit the damage.
	Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine – “Preventing airborne spread of Covid-19 and other airborne diseases” Why it took so long to acknowledge that Covid-19 is airborne—and what we need to do now.
	Nature Biotechnology – “Active machine learning helps drug hunters tackle biology” A growing cadre of startups is pursuing iterative cycles of machine learning, wet-lab experimentation and human feedback to accelerate target drug discovery.
	Lab Animal – “Mobilizing animal models against a pandemic” Animal models are aiding in efforts to understand how the SARS-CoV-2 virus causes disease — and how best to defeat it.
	Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health – “COVID-19 tradeoffs: Feeding others and staying fed” Exploring challenges related to food security and worker safety during a pandemic.
	Nature – “Could liquid biopsies help deliver better treatment?” Tests that capture tumour signatures in the blood have the potential to detect cancer before symptoms appear.
	Lab Animal – “Bat research takes wing” In the field and in the lab, scientists across the globe are working to better understand the biology of the bat – a story that became very relevant just two years later.
	GEN – “AI brings precision to cancer immunotherapy” A growing number of researchers and startups are betting that the analytical capabilities of AI might be just what the field needs to release immunotherapy’s latent power.
	Nature – “How to build a genome” A powerful set of molecular tools helps synthetic biologists to assemble DNA of different sizes, from the gene to the chromosome scale.
	Nature Biotechnology – “Companies seek slice of spatial imaging market” Technologies to visualize and map gene expression in situ are creating a stir.
	Nature – “Cellular censuses to guide cancer care” In the age of immunotherapy, cancer biologists are relying on a new generation of tools to learn how the interplay between tumours and immune cells shapes the course of disease.
	Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News – “Custom CAR T Cells Made to Order” Scientists are genomically engineering T cells to serve as antitumor ‘assassins’ and ‘medics’
	Nature – “Transparent tissues bring cells into focus for microscopy” Techniques that render tissues as clear as glass and swell them to several times their original size are giving unprecedented access to the inner workings of biological systems.
	Nature Methods – “Organoids: the body builders” Stem-cell-derived organoids offer increasingly sophisticated models for studying human development and disease, as well as powerful emerging tools for precision medicine.
	Nature – “How social scientists can help to shape climate policy” Developing strategies to ensure that the ‘needs of the few’ do not outweigh those of the rest.
	PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases – “Partnering to promote research where it matters” Efforts at scientific capacity-building in low- and middle-income countries are enabling major progress in the battle against infectious disease.
	Lab Animal – “An illuminating experience” New methods are enabling neuroscientists to apply optogenetics to big brains.
	Nature – “An ace in the hole for DNA sequencing” Offering long reads and rapidly improving accuracy, nanopore sequencing has the potential to upend the DNA sequencing market.
	Nature Methods – “Pursuing the simple life” Efforts to pare away cellular genomes are yielding streamlined biosynthetic factories and deeper insights into the core processes of biology.
	Nature – “Rewriting the regenerative rulebook” Adult stem cells have become a regulatory battleground as clinicians, scientists and ethicists debate whether the road to the clinic should be shorter.
	Chemical & Engineering News – “Top 40 drugs in the pipeline” A special supplement for C&EN surveying some of the most exciting and promising therapies currently making their way through clinical trials.
	Nature – “Bacterial broadband” The involvement of intestinal bacteria in gut-brain communication could help to explain the mysteries of irritable bowel syndrome, but the search continues for definitive evidence.
	Nature – “Poverty and pathogens” The growth of slums in the developing world’s rapidly expanding cities is creating new opportunities for infectious disease to flourish and spread.
	Nature Biotechnology – “Immune profiling players shift gear to guide cancer drug development” Biopharma players are keen to get their hands on T- and B-cell profiling platforms to explore their potential to advance their immuno-oncology programs.
	Nature – “The power of petabytes” Researchers are struggling to analyse the steadily swelling troves of ‘-omic’ data in the quest for patient-centred health care.
	Nature Methods – “The field that came in from the cold” Recent advances in cryo-electron microscopy are enabling researchers to solve protein structures at near-atomic resolutions, expanding the biological applicability of this technique.
	Nature – “Super-resolve me: from micro to nano” Nanoscopes capable of super-resolution offer scientists intricate views of a world beyond the limits of conventional microscopes — but not every technique fits all imaging needs.
	Nature Biotechnology – “GSK collaborates with Apple on ResearchKit” Apple’s ResearchKit could give pharmaceutical companies a powerful tool for expanding patient participation in clinical trials.
	Nature – “Showdown at the cannabis corral” Researchers are gathering clinical data for medical marijuana against a backdrop of deregulation and opportunism.
	Nature – “Fluent in DNA” As genomics migrates to the clinic, job options are emerging for genetic counsellors to explain the meaning in mutations.
	Nature – “Seeking answers amid a toxic debate” Some see the European Union’s ban on neonicotinoid pesticides as a victory for pollinators, but the data suggest that limiting these compounds may do little to stave off honeybee losses.
	Nature – “Honey, I shrunk the lungs” Miniature versions of hearts, lungs and other ‘organs-on-a-chip’ are heralding a bright future for drug research and discovery.
	Nature – “Against the Grain” Golden rice could help to end a nutritional crisis — but only if researchers can overcome some daunting technical and political hurdles.
	Nature Methods – “Pump up the volume” Light-sheet fluorescence microscopy techniques are enabling researchers to achieve dynamic, long-term imaging and three-dimensional reconstruction of specimens ranging from single cells to whole embryos.
	Nature – “An injection of trust” Faced with outbreaks of preventable diseases, public-health experts need to win over parents who refuse vaccinations.