Michaeleen Doucleff
Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD, is a correspondent for NPR's Science Desk. For nearly a decade, she has been reporting for the radio and the web for NPR's global health outlet, Goats and Soda. Doucleff focuses on disease outbreaks, cross-cultural parenting, and women and children's health.
In 2014, Doucleff was part of the team that earned a George Foster Peabody award for its coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. For the series, Doucleff reported on how the epidemic ravaged maternal health and how the virus spreads through the air. In 2019, Doucleff and Senior Producer Jane Greenhalgh produced a story about how Inuit parents teach children to control their anger. That story was the most popular one on NPR.org for the year; altogether readers have spent more than 16 years worth of time reading it.
In 2021, Doucleff published a book, called Hunt, Gather, Parent, stemming from her reporting at NPR. That book became a New York Times bestseller.
Before coming to NPR in 2012, Doucleff was an editor at the journal Cell, where she wrote about the science behind pop culture. Doucleff has a bachelor degree in biology from Caltech, a doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Berkeley, California, and a master's degree in viticulture and enology from the University of California, Davis.
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During the pandemic scientists launched a vaccine in record-breaking time. Their successful use of mRNA technology could lead to progress in the decades-long effort for an HIV inoculation. -
New versions of omicron are circulating in the United States and South Africa. Two new studies shed light on the potential for future surges — and the risk factor if you've already had omicron. -
A Japanese TV show now on Netflix, 'Old Enough!,' has sparked much debate about the wisdom of allowing very young kids to be very independent. Risky? Beneficial? Child development experts weigh in. -
The variants — BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1 — have been detected in New York and other states as well as 5 other countries. One has a mutation that seems to give it an edge in evading the immune system. -
My 6-year-old has been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 at least four times and never tested positive. Many people fall into that category. Researchers have theories about why they've been able to ward it off. -
That's how the so-called "deltacron" variant — a mashup of delta and omicron — came to be. This process of recombining tells us a lot about the possible past and future of SARS-CoV-2. -
The studies offer the strongest evidence to date of a link between the animals at the seafood market and the spread of SARS-CoV-2. A top virus sleuth gives the details. -
Some countries are moving ahead with plans to offer a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine. But studies are raising questions about the potential advantages of this extra booster. -
Answer a few questions and find out what kind of immune cell you'd be — and learn more about these amazing cells that fight off infection. -
The family history of SARS-CoV-2 is not what virologists expected — and it sheds light on the coronavirus that launched a pandemic. Check out our illustration of the virus's family tree.
