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 Trump administration will require that all new vaccines get tested against a placebo, a move that could make it harder to make new vaccines available, including the next COVID-19 shots.
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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says autism is "epidemic" and he's launching research to identify an "environmental toxin" for blame. Independent scientists and advocates are skeptical.
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The new research will study the physical and mental health effects of gender transition. It comes on the heels of the administration cutting hundreds of research grants for LGBTQ+ health. -
It was a chaotic week for the nation's health agencies, as layoff notices rolled in along with an order for deep cuts to contract spending. NPR's health reporters tell us what they've learned.
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Medical researchers say the Trump administration's plan to reduce payments for indirect research costs will hamper the search for new cures. A visit to University of Maryland lab studying how viruses spread to illustrates the impact.
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It's an unusual winter for respiratory illnesses. The flu is peaking twice: once in early January and again in February. Meanwhile, it's the mildest COVID winter since the pandemic began. -
Medical researchers at the National Institutes of Health say the early actions by the new Trump administration are harming their research.
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An Alabama grandmother who was the first patient to receive a new kind of genetically modified pig kidney more than two months ago is now the longest surviving recipient of a pig organ. -
In a memo obtained by NPR, acting Health Secretary Dorothy Fink forbade staff from public communications on most matters until Feb. 1, unless they get express approval from "a presidential appointee." -
The annual winter respiratory virus season is in full force. The number of people catching the flu is skyrocketing, while COVID-19, RSV and other respiratory viral illnesses are also rising.
