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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Consumers will have a new generic alternative to the widely used — and pricey — device to counter life-threatening allergic reactions. -
After the Food and Drug Administration said that antidepressants could spur suicidal thinking in teens, doctors prescribed the drugs less often. The change may have led to more suicides. -
Insulin monitors and pumps are getting better, but a person with diabetes will tell you they're far from ideal. Potential solutions include one that delivers two hormones to control blood sugar. -
Public health officials have dreamed of getting cigarette use down to 16 percent of teens, and that day has come. But some are turning to hookahs and electronic cigarettes, so the news isn't all good. -
The recent FDA approval of an HPV test to screen for cervical cancer has ignited debate among doctors. Some say the viral test will catch cancers earlier. Others warn it increases needless biopsies. -
A case of Middle East respiratory syndrome has been found in the U.S. The virus has killed about a quarter of the people known to have been infected. But the risk to the public remains low. -
"If smallpox is outlawed, only outlaws will have smallpox," says one NIH virologist. Others say keeping vials of deadly virus just invites a horrific accident or theft. WHO is about to vote — again. -
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the first case of Middle Eastern Respiratory Virus, or MERS, has been confirmed in the U.S. A health care worker in Indiana who recently returned from Saudi Arabia has been hospitalized and is critical condition.
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The Food and Drug Administration is proposing to expand its regulatory powers to e-cigarettes and other popular products containing nicotine.
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If the agency has its way, it will ban sales to minors and keep e-cigarettes out of vending machines. People also would be warned that the nicotine vapor the devices emit is addictive.
