Rob Stein
Rob Stein is a correspondent and senior editor on NPR's science desk.
An award-winning science journalist with more than 30 years of experience, Stein mostly covers health and medicine. He tends to focus on stories that illustrate the intersection of science, health, politics, social trends, ethics, and federal science policy. He tracks genetics, stem cells, cancer research, women's health issues, and other science, medical, and health policy news.
Before NPR, Stein worked at The Washington Post for 16 years, first as the newspaper's science editor and then as a national health reporter. Earlier in his career, Stein spent about four years as an editor at NPR's science desk. Before that, he was a science reporter for United Press International (UPI) in Boston and the science editor of the international wire service in Washington.
Stein's work has been honored by many organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Association of Health Care Journalists. He was twice part of NPR teams that won Peabody Awards.
Stein frequently represents NPR, speaking at universities, international meetings and other venues, including the University of Cambridge in Britain, the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea, and the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.
Stein is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He completed a journalism fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health, a program in science and religion at the University of Cambridge, and a summer science writer's workshop at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.
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The Food and Drug Administration's top vaccine advisory committee voted Thursday to recommend an mRNA influenza vaccine. It's the first flu vaccine that uses the same technology as COVID-19 shots.
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Some of the 18 cruise ship passengers in quarantine after a deadly hantavirus outbreak have had a tough time in isolation.
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The Trump administration has imposed tough restrictions in response to hantavirus and Ebola, including quarantine orders and travel bans. That's despite past criticism of many COVID measures.
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Public health experts are worried that states are less prepared to respond to the Ebola outbreak and other infectious disease threats because many weakened their public health authorities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A federal judge has issued a preliminary ruling that puts a hold on the Trump administration's overhaul of vaccine policies, including cuts to the number of recommended vaccines for children.
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An American born in 2024 can expect to live to be 79, on average. But people in other wealthy countries can expect to live longer.
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Flu cases are soaring in New York and picking up in other parts of the country. Experts worry it will be another bad season. COVID and RSV have been less of a problem, but they're also on the rise.
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Flu cases are soaring in New York and picking up in other parts of the country. Experts worry it will be another bad season. COVID and RSV have been less of a problem, but they're also on the rise.
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A federal vaccine advisory panel could make changes to the childhood vaccine schedule when they meet Friday. A look at what was discussed on day one of the meeting of advisers
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The Food and Drug Administration says it's going to get tougher on vaccines, blaming the deaths of at least 10 children on the COVID-19 vaccines.