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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U.S. Vaccinations May Be Reaching A Tipping Point In Fight Against Virus, Experts SayNew coronavirus cases are at their lowest level since October. Some health experts think the vaccination campaign deserves credit for tamping down the U.S. outbreak. But will the downturn last?
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COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective but don't always provide perfect protection. Some vaccinated people later exposed to the virus still get sick. Why and how often that happens is under study. -
The variant known as B.1.1.7, which is more easily spread, was first identified in England last fall. Since then, it has spread quickly in the U.S.
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The answer, experts say, depends on how Americans behave in the next several weeks and how quickly vaccines get in arms.
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Many public health experts are now increasingly optimistic about how the pandemic is playing out in the U.S. Here's what they say we can expect for the rest of 2021.
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Scientists are spotting new coronavirus variants almost on a daily basis. So far public health experts are still most worried about three important ones.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the plan on Friday as part of an effort to accelerate in-person learning across the state.
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The Biden administration is promising 61 million rapid at-home tests by the summer. But critics say that's too few and way too late.
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Daily numbers of new cases are finally starting to wane, and hospitalizations are down slightly. But health care systems are still overburdened and another resurgence remains a threat. -
The deaths caused by the pandemic appear to be shortening overall life expectancy in the U.S. by 1.13 years, which would be the largest single decline in at least 40 years.
