The teenage years are normally a challenging time. Add a global pandemic to the regular stressors and you have the makings of a perfect storm. This is especially true for teens who are already battling depression and anxiety. Developmentally, adolescents are supposed to be gaining independence but the pandemic has placed severe restrictions on this very healthy, natural inclination. School changes have also exacerbated the situation, taking away an outlet for extracurriculars

Imagine this scenario: Rose, a woman in her early 50s goes to her local park to enjoy a tennis match with a friend. Playing tennis is a hobby she picked up in adulthood and it has been a great way to connect with people and get much-needed physical activity in her week. What she did not expect is that she would leave the court that day in a stretcher. Her friend had to call an ambulance after a bad fall left Rose unable to move. Two surgeries later and many weeks later and Ro

I developed a number of fact sheets for the Biomonitoring program in the Division of Laboratory Sciences at CDC. This fact sheet on arsenic is just one example. Arsenic Factsheet Arsenic, a naturally occurring element, can combine with either inorganic or organic substances to form many different compounds. Inorganic arsenic compounds are in soils, sediments, and groundwater. These compounds occur either naturally, or as a result of mining, ore smelting, or when using arseni

It is difficult to watch someone you love battle depression. In the U.S. depression affects 17.3 million adults, a third of which have...

As the senior communication specialist for the Office of the Director for Laboratory Science and Safety, I handled all marketing and...

As a communications specialist based in the Office of the Director, I supported all communication needs for all 6 branches and 50+ laboratories in the Division of Laboratory Sciences. This included the Newborn Screening and Molecular Biology Branch. This brochure was developed to comprehensively convey the work accomplished by this branch, which included the Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Program, translation research, and genomics. View the complete brochure here .

At CDC I had the opportunity to do the two things I loved: to write about science, all while working alongside world-renown scientists, helping them to market their programs in the best possible way to gain partners and funding, educate the public, and ultimately, improve health outcomes. I learned a great deal along the way and am thankful for the near-decade that I spent there. One project that I led was the development of the Tobacco Lab Brochure linked below.