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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Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration overwhelmingly voted to recommend that it authorize Novavax's two-dose vaccine against COVID-19. -
COVID-19 vaccinations for children younger than 5 could start right after the Juneteenth holiday. -
The first results from an in-depth investigation of long COVID produced provocative results. Researchers don't understand the mechanism behind the lingering symptoms but found a link with anxiety. -
The virus became the third leading cause of death in the U.S., and caused so many to die in the prime of life that the country experienced the biggest drop in life expectancy since World War II. -
The Food and Drug Administration expanded authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID vaccine to enable kids ages 5 to 11 who were vaccinated at least five months ago to get a third shot. -
The company says a low-dose version of its vaccine triggers an immune response in children ages 6 months to less than 6 years equivalent to what has protected older children and adults. -
Data show that a third dose can help boost kids' immunity. Some experts are skeptical that another shot is needed for younger kids. -
The company says this version targets both the original coronavirus and the beta variant, and appears to provide broader and longer-lasting protection against different strains, including omicron. -
The pandemic drove U.S. life expectancy down again in 2021 even though life-saving vaccines were widely available. -
Federal health officials are convening with outside advisers April 6 to talk about a vaccine plan, whether that's another booster in the fall, an omicron shot or one that targets more than one strain.
