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Our Gangby Jeff Grabmeier Informed sources tell “Our Gang” that Rick Borchelt has resigned his position as editor of this column and that I have replaced him. I’ll keep you informed as I learn more . . .
Right up her alley. Those of us toiling in the science writing biz in Ohio are feeling bittersweet about the recent success of Kelli Whitlock as she moves up in the world and away from the Buckeye state. Kelli left Ohio University in Athens, where she was director of research communications, to become manager of media relations & publications at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, MA. Send your congratulations to whitlock@wi.mit.edu Filling new (bowling) shoes. Kelli left Ohio U’s research communications shop in good hands. Andrea Gibson, formerly the assistant director, is now director of research communications at the university. Her contact info remains the same: gibsona@ohio.edu. Collecting a trophy. Robin Meja received a 2003 Soros Justice Media Fellowship to report on forensic science. She will use the fellowship to write articles addressing problems in the field of forensic science that affect the fairness of thousands of trials each year. This project builds on stories she has done for New Scientist and the Los Angeles Times, which examine challenges to the validity of a decades-old FBI technique. Congratulate her at rjmejia@pacbell.net. She splits. Laura Lane will be leaving her post as public affairs manager at the J. David Gladstone Institutes to pursue a freelance writing career. Wish Laura luck at lanelaura@hotmail.com. Good follow through. Rebecca Skloot was recently elected to the board of the National Book Critics Circle. And in March, she is launching Popular Science’s online book section www.popsci.com/books), which she will edit. The Pop Sci book page will feature book reviews, excerpts, author Q&As, and Rebecca’s monthly column on new science books. To bring new and forthcoming books to Rebecca’s attention, you can contact her at rebecca@rebeccaskloot.com. And if that wasn’t enough, Rebecca recently penned an op-ed that appeared in the New York Times (Feb. 22) arguing that more public attention needs to be focused on the safety of infertility treatments. Strikes out in new direction. Charlotte Libov recently took a job as managing editor of the Heritage Villager, a community newspaper based in Southbury, CT. She’s continuing her medical freelancing and public speaking on heart disease in women with a recent appearance at Cleveland Regional Medical Center in Smyrna, NC. Charlotte also took a walk down memory lane recently when she saw promos for the film “Catch Me If You Can,” about con man Frank Abagnale. Charlotte wrote an article about the very same fellow while on her first job as a newspaper reporter some 20 years ago. She is at char@pcnet.com. Not a moment to spare. Tim DeRoche is producing and hosting “Masters of Science,” a TV show that will feature interviews with prominent scientists in southern California. Funded by the Riordan Foundation, the show will air on LA’s Channel 36, the local educational channel. The first episode aired in late February. Tim is also currently serving as president of the Los Angeles Examiner, a new weekly newspaper in LA that is being started by the former mayor of Los Angeles, Dick Riordan. The paper will launch in early June. Finally, he is working with a team of producers and scientists to gain funding for “SchoolMates,” a children’s show focusing on the history of technology around the world. The team has submitted a grant proposal to the National Science Foundation. Contact info for DeRoche is timderoche@yahoo.com. Adding another lane. The University of Wisconsin’s and Why Files major-domo Terry Devitt has been asked to serve a three-year term on the advisory board for the ReDiscover Fund, an effort by the Wellcome Trust, the Wolfson Foundation, and the Millennium Commission in support of science centers and museums. The primary aim of the fund is to support quality science education exhibits and “to secure the financial viability of science and discovery centers and museums.” You can find Terry at trdevitt@wisc.edu. Starting a new frame. Beth Martin is now the communications manager for the Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3), one of four California Institutes for Science and Innovation. QB3 includes researchers on three campuses: UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Cruz. The mission of QB3 is to foster collaborative projects among the investigators on the three campuses and to help funnel research discoveries into commercial development. Send e-mail to Beth at bmartin_3682@yahoo.com. The perfect game. In the Fall 2002 issue, we reported that Christy Reed was a participant in The Learning Channel’s reality-based TV show “Escape from Experiment Island.” Based on “Junkyard Wars” more than “Survivor,” this show took Christy and seven other contestants to a remote island off the western coast of Scotland. The BBC documented their adventures as they formed two teams and used their scientific and technical know-how in a race to get off the island. Since we last reported on Christy’s adventure, the program finally aired on Feb. 5 and she is now free to discuss the results. While Christy’s team didn’t win (we were pulling for you Christy!), she said both teams walked away with a feeling of accomplishment, some muddy boots and rain gear, and a whole bunch of new friends. Ask her about the adventure at seagirlreed@nasw.org. Hanging up her shoes. Marsha Goldsmith, former editor of Medical News & Perspectives for JAMA, officially retired from her post at the end of last year. Congratulations Marsha! A new game. Dan Greenberg has been awarded a three-year research grant by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for a book about the effects of commercial support on academic health research. In connection with the project, which starts in September, Dan has been appointed a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution, in Washington. He welcomes tips and insights from NASW colleagues who have observed academic-industrial relations (danielg523@aol.com). Dan’s most recent book, Science, Money, and Politics: Political Triumph and Ethical Erosion, will be published in paperback in May. Best of the league. The Louisiana Public Health Association has chosen John M. Pope to receive this year’s Louise McFarland Award for Excellence in Public Health Communication. John is especially honored because the award is named for the former state epidemilogist who was his main mentor when he started on the health beat nearly 17 years ago. John can be found at pinckelopes@earthlink.net. # Jeff Grabmeier is assistant director of research communications at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Send news about your life to Jeff at grabmeier@nasw.org. |
