Journalism

I’ve written for more than two dozen major newspapers, magazines, and websites. Although I’ve covered a wide range of topics over the years, these days I primarily focus on health and medicine.

I’m honored to have received several awards for my work. They include:

  • APEX Award for Publication Excellence, Health and Medical Writing: For “The Pain Pill Problem,” Arthritis Today, September-October 2016.
  • National Mature Media Award (Silver): For “Friendly Advice from Your Doc,” Arthritis Today, May-June 2016.
  • The Content Council Pearl Award, Best Feature Article (circulation 50,000 to 250,000): For “Change of Heart?” Proto,
    Winter 2011.
  • Folio Magazine “Eddie” Award (Silver): For “Change of Heart?” Proto, Winter 2011.
  • American Society of Journalists and Authors, Outstanding Article/Business or Technology: For “Born Again,” Proto, Fall 2009.

CREDITS

Magazines

AARP.com
Arthritis Today
Better Homes and Gardens
Brain & Life
Business 2.0
Cooking Light
Dr. Oz: The Good Life
e-Colloquia
Esquire
Forbes.com
Fortune
Glamour
Health
Health After 50
Health Monitor
The Journal (Cape Cod Hospital)
Living with Cancer
Medscape
Men’s Fitness
Men’s Health
Men’s Journal
Natural Health
New Woman
O, The Oprah Magazine
Parade
Prevention
Proto
PsA Today
Puget Sound Magazine
RA Insider
RA Today
Reader’s Digest
Voice (BC School of Nursing)
Utne Magazine
Walking Magazine
WebMD

Newspapers

Boston Globe
Boston Phoenix
Eastsideweek
Los Angeles Times
New York Newsday
New York Times
Seattle Weekly

Selected Articles

What Makes a Kid Clumsy?
More research into coordination disorders shows why some children are more prone to trip, fumble and spill the milk.
Proto, March 29, 2021. Click here to read.

On the Same Page
Boston College School of Nursing associate professor Karen Lyons’s research on how partners in a caregiving relationship can benefit from their shared experience.
Voice magazine (Connell School of Nursing), November 12, 2020. Click here to read.

The Art of Active Surveillance
Sometimes prostate cancer is best served by a wait-and-see approach. Yet many patients and doctors can’t stand the thought of doing nothing. What would change their minds?
Proto, January 27, 2020. Click here to read.

Terry Bradshaw: Head to Head with RA
The NFL Hall-of-Famer and FOX football analyst has not let rheumatoid arthritis slow him down.
Arthritis Today, November 14, 2018. Click here to read.

New Heroes of the Microbe War
More and more bacteria are nearly impervious to treatment. Could new approaches pick up where antibiotics leave off?
Proto, September 21, 2018. Click here to read.

100 Year Shadow
A century after the worst plague in history, researchers seek a universal flu vaccine to head off a repeat of the disaster.
Proto, June 18, 2018. Click here to read.

The Dawn of the Bionic Pancreas
Automated systems could soon take the guesswork out of managing diabetes. But will patients trust them with their lives?
Proto, January 24, 2018. Click here to read.

Unstoppable: Charcandrick West’s Story
Charcandrick West has juvenile arthritis. Now he’s dodging tackles in the NFL.
Arthritis Today, September 27, 2017. Click here to read.

Whole Again
The first U.S. penis transplant didn’t save a life, but it vastly improved one, opening a frontier for complex transplants.
Proto, February 14, 2017. Click here to read.

Pot and the Teen Brain
A more relaxed attitude toward legal marijuana may mean more use among teens. The long-term effects may not be good.
Proto, February 12, 2016. Click here to read.

Healing Vets, Rescuing Dogs
Pets for Vets finds military veterans who are suffering from emotional wounds and pairs them with dogs and other pets from animal shelters.
Forbes.com, November 10, 2015. Click here to read.

Sensory Substitution
People with synesthesia have overlapping senses; they hear colors and see sounds, for example. Now scientists inspired by synesthetes are developing devices that help the blind “see” with their ears and skin.
Proto, October 3, 2015. Click here to read.

Testing the Waters
The ocean floor is teeming with microorganisms that may hold the secret to new treatments for cancer and other diseases.
Proto, June 10, 2015. Click here to read.

Printing a New You
Using 3-D printers to create skull implants or replacement joints is exciting; running off living organs would be revolutionary.
Proto, September 22, 2014. Click here to read.

Acting Out
Reflections on being a minor character in a disaster drill.
Proto, September 22, 2014. Click here to read.

Should doctors consider medical costs?
The price of care can hurt health, and some say physicians have a responsibility to treat patients accordingly.
Boston Globe, April 13, 2014. Click here to read.

Same Genes, Different Fates
Identical twins have the same DNA, but their health fates often diverge. Understanding why is helping to reveal why and how epigenetic changes influence human health.
Proto, Fall 2013. Click here to read.

Gaining Strength
Out of favor for decades, testosterone replacement therapy is back—and so is the debate about a possible link to prostate cancer.
Proto, Summer 2012. Click here to read.

Kids…and Cholesterol?
New guidelines for cholesterol testing in children have stirred controversy. Should your child be tested?
Parade
,
February 26, 2012. Click here to read.

5 Ways To Prevent Prostate Cancer
Foods to eat, medications to consider, supplements to avoid.
AARP.com, Click here to read.

Drug Shortages: Museum Pieces
Drug availability is getting worse, with essential medicines often impossible to obtain. What will it take to fix the system?
Proto, Summer 2011. Click here to read.

Change of Heart? Questioning Statins
Statins’ ability to control cholesterol is unquestionable. Less certain, after 25 years, is whether benefits outweigh potential harm. Chosen as best feature article (circulation: 50,000 to 250,000) of 2011 by the Custom Content Council.
Proto,
Winter 2011. Click here to read.

Born Again
Finding new uses for old medications used to happen only by chance, but proponents of “drug repositioning” have begun searching for serendipity. Chosen as best business/technology article of 2009 by the American Society of Journalists and Authors.
Proto, Fall 2009. Click here to read.

Weight Loss, Family Style
Can the family that gains together lose together?
O, The Oprah Magazine, May 2009.Click here to read.

Fatal Flaw
Some doctors suggest that the modern definition of “death” is wrong — and that the mistake is costing lives.
Boston Globe, March 9, 2008. Click here to read.

The Danger in Your Water
Fluoride has been tied to bone cancer, lower IQs, and osteoporosis. So why is it still being added to your water?
Prevention
, August 2006. Click here to read.

Like Charlemagne, You’ve Got Gout
The “disease of kings and king of diseases” is on the rise.
New York Times, June 20, 2005. Click here to read.

A Man’s Tough Choice
Men diagnosed with prostate cancer face a confusing array of options. Is any one treatment the “right” choice?
Los Angeles Times, November 4, 2004. Click here to read.

Blindsided
“We thought our health insurance had us covered.” One family’s battle with medical bureaucracy.
Reader’s Digest, February 2004. Click here to read.

Are You Driving Yourself Sick?
How to minimize your stress behind the wheel.
Reader’s Digest, September 2003. Click here to read.

Anger, the Heavy Burden
On the first anniversary of 9/11, a look at the surprising health benefits that come with letting go of long-held anger and resentment.
Los Angeles Times, September 9, 2002. Click here to read.

Is This Artery About To Blow?
The biggest heart-attack villain is a kind of plaque you’ve never heard of. The race to find it is on.
Fortune
, June 24, 2002. Click here to read.

Strive To Be Fit, Not Fanatical
One man’s perspective on why getting in shape is easier than it looks.
Los Angeles Times, June 7, 1999. Click here to read.