Resume
Tinker Ready
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141
tinkerr *at* comcast *dot* net
Multimedia Journalist
Seasoned reporter covering health and science for national newspapers, magazines and websites
College-level writing and journalism instructor
Skills
Writing and reporting: Deep portfolio of investigative, enterprise and health/science beat stories.
Content management: WordPress, Movable Type, Blogger.
Social media: Twitter, Facebook, Storify, Pinterest, and Vimeo.
Deadline reporting: Capable of quick turnaround on assignments.
Video: Basic video. Editing with Premiere Pro
Radio: Trained in field reporting and mixing with Pro Tools, Audition.
Current Projects
Contributor: Medscape,
Founder and editor: Boston Health News website
Freelancer for publications and websites including the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Nature Network Boston, Fast Company, Parents, Organic Gardening, Mass Device and Nature Medicine.
Instructor at Boston University and Northeastern University
Staff Writer
Health Leaders Media: Weekly columnist, 2014-2017.
Nature Boston: Staff blogger, 2010-2012.
The News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina. Health reporter, 1990-1997.
The Cambodia Daily, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Special projects editor, 1996.
HealthWeek, Washington, D.C. bureau. Associate editor, 1988-1990.
Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Connecticut. Reporter, 1984-1988.
Valley Advocate, Springfield, Massachusetts. Staff writer, 1982-1984.
Clips
BMJ: Covid-19: The US state copying a global health template for contact tracing success. May 13, 2020
Medscape: Coverage from the World Conference of Dermatology, Milan, Italy June 2019.
The Boston Globe: The earthy-crunchy generation helped change the way we eat. October 31, 2018
NEO.LIFE: MIT bioengineer Angela Belcher commands a virus to hunt deadly ovarian cancer tumors. June 14, 2018
Medscape Anesthesiology : Coverage from 2017 meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists
Undark magazine: Resurrecting the Heath Hen. De-extinction science hopes to one day bring back passenger pigeons or wooly mammoths. But the lowly heath hen of Martha’s Vineyard might be first. October 17, 2016
Health Leaders Media: Columnist, health care quality. 2014-2017.
The Boston Globe: Gay history comes alive at the Mount Auburn Cemetery. July 2016
The Boston Globe: The rose maven of the Public Garden. August 28, 2012. A profile of China Altman, leader of the volunteers who tend to the park’s rose beds.
WAMC, Radio: Overdose prevention: Still using, but still alive. Massachusetts and other states are trying a new approach to heroin addiction that aims at keeping addicts alive until they can get sober. The Health Show, WAMC, Albany, New York. 2010. Click for mp3 or via PRX page
Nature Boston: A site for the local science community. Staff blogger, 2010-2012.
Radio: On the way to wired medicine: A Massachusetts town struggles to create a health information network. Radio report, WBUR, Boston Dec 27, 2009 and WAMC, Albany, New York.
“Debate mounts over proposed biotech tax breaks” : Critics of Gov. Patrick’s $1 billion life sciences bill question whether the drug development industry in Massachusetts needs financial help from the state. Jan 28, 2008, Nature Network Boston, Jan 28, 2008
Campus donors ask for more: The recent controversy surrounding MIT neuroscience raises questions about how much power philanthropists have over universities. Nature Network Boston. Nov 9, 2006
“ Lightman’s dream:” MIT physicist and author empowers young Cambodian women by building a dormitory for them in Phnom Penh. The Boston Globe, November 19, 2007
“Divided Loyalties? Nonprofit health advocacy groups like to portray themselves as patients’ allies. Can they serve corporate benefactors at the same time? The Washington Post, January 7, 2006
A profile of Dr. Susan Hockfield, the first biomedical scientist to become president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nature Medicine, Feburary, 2005
“Split Decision, A New Effort Aims to Sway Breast Cancer Patients to Opt for Conservative Rather Than Radical Surgery.” The Washington Post October 19, 2004
“At the autograph hole, Red Sox fans create their own lineup.” A short feature from Fenway Park. The Boston Globe, October 3, 2004
“When young heart patients become adults.” Doctors are taking note of the unique needs of people whose defects started in childhood.Los Angeles Times, December 1, 2003
“The color of money: As the line between academia and industry blurs, conflict-of-interest issues have gone from black and white to all shades in between.” Nature Medicine, November 2003.
“EMS and heart attacks: Can emergency angioplasty save more lives?” The Washington Post, April 1, 2003
Awards and Fellowships
2003 and 2001: Grants from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
New England Press Association awards, honorable mention for Healing Traditions, The Boston Phoenix, 2001
North Carolina Press Association awards, 1994, First prize, “To be set free” a story of a young woman’s wait for a lung transplant. The News & Observer, November 6, 1994.
1991: Knight Center for Specialized Journalism, Biotechnology fellowship.
Education
Northeastern University
Master of Arts in Journalism, 2005
Thesis: “The relationship between the medical industry and health care charities:
A challenge for journalists.” Recipient: Paul E. Hirshon award for academic achievement and professional ethics.
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Bachelor of Arts, Women’s Studies and Journalism, 1981
Boston University, College of Liberal Arts, 1976-1978
Teaching
Boston University College of Communication: Online Journalism, 2012, Introduction to Communication Writing, 2005-present
Northeastern University School of Journalism: Journalism 201, 2006-present
Tinker Ready 