Laura Helmuth

Laura Helmuth is an American science journalist and the Editor in Chief of Scientific American. She was formerly the Health and Science editor at The Washington Post. From 2016 to 2018, she served as the President of the National Association of Science Writers.

Laura Helmuth
EducationEckerd College, BS, 1991

University of California, Berkeley, PhD, 1997

University of California, Santa Cruz, Science Writing Certificate, 1998
OccupationEditor in Chief
EmployerScientific American
Board member ofSociety for Science and the Public, High Country News, Geological Society of Washington

Education and early career

Helmuth attended Eckerd College, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology in 1991. She then attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she received her PhD in cognitive neuroscience in 1997.[1] She performed her doctoral work in the laboratory of Richard Ivry. Her research centered on the underlying neuroscience of Parkinson's disease and resulted in a thesis entitled Sequence Learning in Patients with Parkinson's Disease. Her thesis research included understanding the role of the cerebellum in verbal function, learning, and attention, as well as studying how the brain coordinates and executes cyclic movements.[2][3]

In 1998, she earned a certificate in science communication from University of California, Santa Cruz.[4] She began her science writing career as an intern at Science News.[5]

Career

Helmuth began her writing career as a staff reporter and editor for Science Magazine, from 1999 to 2004.[6] She then became a Science Editor at Smithsonian Magazine, where she remained from 2004 to 2012 before becoming the Science and Health editor at the online magazine Slate.[7] During her four-year tenure, she became known for Slate's imaginative science coverage, which included a series that explored the science of longevity about why humans are living longer than they have before.[8] On April 28, 2016, Helmuth became The Washington Post's editor of Health, Science and Environment, overseeing a team of 13 journalists.[9] On April 13, 2020, Helmuth succeeded Mariette DiChristina as the ninth Editor-in-Chief of Scientific American.[1]

Throughout the course of her career, Helmuth has developed a reputation for bringing rigor to coverage of science. She has written about and lectured on combatting misinformation through science journalism.[10][11] While at the Washington Post, she oversaw the development of a video series called "The Vaccine Project," written by Anna Rothschild and Brian Monroe, to address vaccine hesitancy. She has also taken advantage of the mystery format to draw readers into rigorous medical coverage with a Post series called "Medical Mysteries."[11] Most recently, she developed a tip sheet for journalists covering the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, noting that "repetition makes misinformation feel more true."[12][13]

Leadership and service

Helmuth serves as a member of a Standing Committee on Advancing Science Communication Research and Practice in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.[14][15] She has also given lectures at institutions like the American Institute of Physics, the National Academy of Sciences, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison about how science journalists can counter misinformation and address uncertainty in their reporting.[16][17]

From 2016 to 2018, Helmuth served as the President of the National Association of Science Writers.[18] She serves on the boards of Society for Science and the Public, High Country News, the Geological Society of Washington, Spectrum magazine (an initiative of the Simons Foundation), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science's service SciLine.[19]

Selected Writing

Awards and honors

References
  1. "Scientific American appoints Laura Helmuth Editor-in-Chief". Pressroom. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  2. Helmuth, L. L.; Ivry, R. B.; Shimizu, N. (1997-03-01). "Preserved performance by cerebellar patients on tests of word generation, discrimination learning, and attention". Learning & Memory. 3 (6): 456–474. doi:10.1101/lm.3.6.456. ISSN 1072-0502. PMID 10456111.
  3. Helmuth, Laura L.; Ivry, Richard B. (1996). "When two hands are better than one: Reduced timing variability during bimanual movements". Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. 22 (2): 278–293. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.22.2.278. ISSN 1939-1277.
  4. Stephens, Tim. "Physical and Biological Sciences Division honors three prominent alumni". UC Santa Cruz News. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  5. "Finding the stories and growing the next crop of science journalists". Science News. 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  6. "Science Reporter". American Psychological Association. December 2004. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  7. "Laura Helmuth". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  8. "Two Lives". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  9. WashPostPR. "Laura Helmuth joins National team as editor". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  10. "Laura Helmuth Discusses "Fake News" with AAP". Laura Helmuth Discusses "Fake News" with AAP. 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  11. Ledda, Brianne (2019-10-02). "Washington Post editor discusses science and transparency at latest 'My Life As' lecture". The Statesman. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  12. Helmuth, Laura (2020-03-02). "Tips for covering the coronavirus epidemic effectively without spreading misinformation". www.nasw.org. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  13. Leber, Rebecca. "Want to avoid spreading coronavirus misinformation? Think like a science journalist". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  14. "Advancing Sci Comm Committee". sites.nationalacademies.org. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  15. National Academy of Sciences (2018). Olson, Steve (ed.). The Science of Science Communication III: Inspiring Novel Collaborations and Building Capacity: Proceedings of a Colloquium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/24958. ISBN 978-0-309-46858-9. PMID 29901953.
  16. "Laura Helmuth". www.aip.org. 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  17. "Washington Post's Helmuth is UW Science Writer in Residence". news.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  18. "NASW past presidents". www.nasw.org. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  19. "Laura Helmuth | Society for Science & the Public". Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  20. "2019 Distinguished Graduate Student Alumni". graddiv.ucsc.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
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