Allison Whitten, PhD
Allison Whitten earned her PhD from Vanderbilt University in 2018 and continued her scientific training at Vanderbilt as a National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) Postdoctoral Fellow. Her PhD and postdoctoral studies investigated the neurobiological causes of language impairments in neurological disorders. In 2020, she was awarded an AAAS Mass Media Fellowship to write for Discover Magazine. Her work has also appeared in WIRED, Quanta Magazine, Ars Technica, and more.
Articles by Allison Whitten, PhD
| 2 min read
Researchers showed that pancreatic cancer stem cells produce a protein usually made by neutrophils to evade the immune system and keep growing.
| 2 min read
Scientists and science journalists alike have a responsibility to communicate new discoveries with the utmost accuracy, sans hype.
| 6 min read
Avoiding skin cancer could be as easy as slathering on a gel that the body rapidly metabolizes.
| 10+ min read
Once symptoms show up, it’s too late to cure many autoimmune diseases. Researchers are investigating ways to prevent the conditions from starting at all.
| 10+ min read
No pharmaceutical treatments exist for addictions to drugs like cocaine or cannabis. Now, scientists are engineering gene therapies, immunotherapies, and more.
| 10+ min read
After a heart attack, the damage is permanent — for now. Researchers are testing innovative ways to get the heart to regenerate muscle cells and fix itself.
| 5 min read
Biologics like monoclonal antibodies and mRNA vaccines are complex drugs. Yongchao Su uses biophysical tools and innovative strategies to understand them better.
| 5 min read
Researchers created an improved method for assays that detect viral vectors in a patient’s blood or urine. It’s used to ensure that bystanders will not be exposed.
| 10+ min read
A new type of drug for schizophrenia could finally be approved in September. Others may not be far behind.
| 2 min read
Researchers discovered an immunological connection between the eye and the brain that could lead to new therapeutics for central nervous system diseases.
| 4 min read
Insect wings contain micropillars that kill harmful microbes. Researchers designed a similar titanium surface to prevent fungal infections on medical devices.
| 3 min read
By watching brain organoids develop, researchers observed surprising abnormalities caused by mutations in a gene related to early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
