Laura Helmuth Explained

Laura Helmuth
Education:Eckerd College (BS)
University of California, Berkeley (PhD)
University of California, Santa Cruz
Boards:Society for Science and the Public, High Country News, Geological Society of Washington

Laura Lee Helmuth is an American science journalist, who was the editor in chief of Scientific American. She was formerly the Health and Science editor at The Washington Post. From 2016 to 2018, she served as the president of the National Association of Science Writers.

Education and early career

Helmuth grew up in Indiana.[1] She attended Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she received her Bachelor of Science in biology and psychology in 1991. She then attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she received her Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience in 1997.[2] She performed her doctoral work in the laboratory of Richard Ivry. Her research centered on the underlying neuroscience of Parkinson's disease and contributed to the thesis Sequence Learning in Patients with Parkinson's Disease.[3] Her research included the role of the cerebellum in verbal function, learning, attention, and studying how the brain coordinates and executes cyclic movements.[4] [5]

In 1998, she earned a certificate in science communication from University of California, Santa Cruz.[6] She began her science-writing career as an intern at Science News.[7]

Writer and editor

Helmuth began her writing career as a staff reporter and editor for Science magazine, from 1999 to 2004.[8] She then became a Science Editor at Smithsonian Magazine, where she remained from 2004 to 2012 before becoming the Science and Health editor at the online magazine Slate.[9] [10] [11] On April 28, 2016, Helmuth was appointed The Washington Post's editor of Health, Science and Environment,[12] where she initiated a Post series called "Medical Mysteries."

On April 13, 2020, Helmuth became the ninth overall editor-in-chief of Scientific American, succeeding Mariette DiChristina.Helmuth has written about and lectured on combatting "misinformation through science journalism." She has stated that, in science journalism, it has started to be recognized that "there are not always two sides to every story." She offered the example of evolution, in relation to which she said, "we don’t quote creationists,” while she added that “with climate change, you can disagree about what to do about [it], but the science of it is completely, comprehensively proven.”[13] While at the Washington Post, she oversaw the development of a video series called "The Vaccine Project," written by Anna Rothschild and Brian Monroe, to address vaccine hesitancy.

After the coronovirus pandemic broke, Hellmuth developed, in 2020, a tip sheet for journalists covering the pandemic, noting that "repetition makes misinformation feel more true."[14] [15]

Presidential endorsements

For the 2020 presidential election, Scientific American announced its endorsement of Joe Biden, the first endorsement of a presidential candidate in the magazine's 175-year history. The endorsement argued that Donald Trump "has badly damaged the U.S. and its people—because he rejects evidence and science", citing Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] [17] [18] Helmuth said that the magazine's decision to endorse Biden was fast and unanimous, although not one made lightly, and that the endorsement was written to be "as inclusive as possible".[17] [19]

Scientific American endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, writing that Donald Trump "endangers public health and safety and rejects evidence, preferring instead nonsensical conspiracy fantasies."[20] [21] Following Trump's victory, Helmuth criticized his supporters in a series of Bluesky posts, calling them "fascists" and the "meanest, dumbest, most bigoted" group. Helmuth's remarks received backlash on Twitter, where some commenters questioned her commitment to scientific objectivity. Helmuth apologized for her "offensive and inappropriate" language and announced her decision to leave her post several days later.[22] [23]

Appointments and service

Helmuth serves as a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Standing Committee on the project for Advancing Science Communication Research and Practice.[24] [25] She has also given lectures at institutions like the American Institute of Physics, the National Academy of Sciences, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison about how science journalists can counter misinformation and address uncertainty in their reporting.[26]

From 2017 to 2018, Helmuth served as president of the National Association of Science Writers.[27] She has also served as a board member for the Society for Science and the Public, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science's SciLine service which connects scientists and journalists.[28]

Bibliography

Articles

Awards and honors

Notes and References

  1. News: Scribner . Herb . November 14, 2024 . Scientific American editor steps down after election comments draw backlash . live . https://archive.today/20241114234940/https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/11/14/scientific-american-laura-helmuth-quits/ . November 14, 2024 . November 15, 2024 . The Washington Post.
  2. Web site: Scientific American appoints Laura Helmuth Editor-in-Chief. Pressroom. en. 6 October 2022.
  3. Helmuth. Laura Lee. Mayr. Ulrich. Daum. Irene. 2000. Sequence Learning in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A comparison of spatial-attention and number-response sequences . Neuropsychologia. 38. 11. 10.1016/S0028-3932(00)00059-2. 1443–1451. 10906370 . 23803927 . 6 October 2022.
  4. Helmuth. Laura Lee. Ivry. Richard B.. 1996. When two hands are better than one: Reduced timing variability during bimanual movements. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance. en. 22. 2. 278–293. 10.1037/0096-1523.22.2.278. 8934844 . 1939-1277. 6 October 2022.
  5. Helmuth. Laura Lee. Ivry. Richard B.. Shimizu. Naomi. 1997. Preserved performance by cerebellar patients on tests of word generation, discrimination learning, and attention. Learning & Memory. en. 3. 6. 456–474. 10.1101/lm.3.6.456. 1072-0502. 10456111. free. 6 October 2022.
  6. Web site: Physical and Biological Sciences Division honors three prominent alumni. Stephens. Tim. UC Santa Cruz News. en. 11 March 2020.
  7. Web site: Finding the stories and growing the next crop of science journalists. 18 September 2019. Science News. en-US. 6 October 2022.
  8. News: My Life As Speaker Series Returns with Science Writer Laura Helmuth. 19 September 2019. Stonybrook University. 6 October 2022. en.
  9. Web site: Laura Helmuth. Slate. en. 6 October 2022.
  10. Web site: Two Lives. Slate. en. 2020-03-11.
  11. Web site: What Happened at Slate This Week?. Laura. Helmuth. August 21, 2015. slate.com.
  12. News: Laura Helmuth joins National team as editor. The Washington Post. en. subscription. 6 October 2022.
  13. Web site: Washington Post editor discusses science and transparency at latest 'My Life As' lecture. Ledda. Brianne. 2 October 2019. The Statesman. en-US. 6 October 2022.
  14. Web site: Tips for covering the coronavirus epidemic effectively without spreading misinformation. Helmuth. Laura. 2 March 2020 . National Association of Science Writers. en. 6 October 2022.
  15. Web site: Want to avoid spreading coronavirus misinformation? Think like a science journalist.. Leber. Rebecca. Mother Jones. en-US. 6 October 2022.
  16. News: Chow . Denise . 15 September 2020 . Biden receives endorsement from Scientific American, magazine's first in 175-year history . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240421081420/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-receives-endorsement-scientific-american-magazine-s-first-175-year-n1240134 . April 21, 2024 . November 15, 2024 . NBC News.
  17. News: Martin . Rachel . 17 September 2020 . 'Scientific American' Breaks 175 Years Of Tradition, Endorses A Presidential Nominee . . 6 October 2022.
  18. News: Belam . Martin . 16 September 2020 . Prestigious US science journal to back Biden in first endorsement in 175-year history. . 6 October 2022.
  19. News: Bellware . Kim . September 15, 2020 . Scientific American backs Biden for its first presidential endorsement in 175 years . live . https://archive.today/20200916014734/https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/09/15/scientific-american-joe-biden/ . September 16, 2020 . November 15, 2024 . The Washington Post.
  20. Web site: Valinsky . Jordan . November 15, 2024 . Editor-in-chief of America’s oldest magazine resigns after calling Trump voters fascists . live . https://archive.today/20241115125146/https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/15/media/scientific-american-editor-resignation/index.html . November 15, 2024 . November 15, 2024 . CNN.
  21. News: Page . Myriam . September 18, 2024 . Scientific American makes presidential endorsement for only the second time in its 179-year history . live . https://archive.today/20240918030739/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/scientific-american-endorse-harris-trump-election-b2614153.html . September 18, 2024 . November 15, 2024 . The Independent.
  22. Laura Helmuth resigns Scientific American: Editor Resigns After Calling Some Trump Supporters ‘Fascists’, the New York Times, November 15, 2024
  23. News: Smith . Benedict . November 15, 2024 . Science journal editor resigns after calling Gen X fascists over Trump win . live . https://archive.today/20241115194911/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2024/11/15/laura-helmuthg-resigns-after-calling-gen-x-fascists/ . November 15, 2024 . November 15, 2024 . The Telegraph.
  24. Web site: Standing Committee on Advancing Science Communication. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine . 6 October 2022.
  25. Book: Steve. Olson. The Science of Science Communication III: Inspiring Novel Collaborations and Building Capacity: Proceedings of a Colloquium. National Academies Press. 2018. 978-0-309-46858-9. Washington, DC. en. 10.17226/24958. 29901953. National Academy of Sciences.
  26. Web site: Laura Helmuth. 12 February 2018 . American Institute of Physics. en. 6 October 2022.
  27. Web site: NASW past presidents. National Association of Science Writers. en. 6 October 2022.
  28. Web site: Psychology Part II: Our Female Ph.D. Graduates at Berkeley. Berkeley Psychology. University of California, Berkeley. en-US. 2019. 6 October 2022.
  29. Online version is titled "Celebrating Scientific American’s 175th anniversary".
  30. Web site: 2019 Distinguished Graduate Student Alumni. Division of Graduate Studies. UC Santa Cruz. October 6, 2022.
  31. Web site: Terry. Devitt. October 18, 2018. Washington Post's Helmuth is UW Science Writer in Residence. News. University of Wisconsin, Madison. en-US. October 6, 2022.
  32. Web site: Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet awards for 2023 . NCSE.ngo . National Center for Science Education . 14 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230814183605/https://ncse.ngo/friend-darwin-and-friend-planet-awards-2023 . 14 August 2023.

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