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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260220T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260220T170000
DTSTAMP:20260206T211150Z
CREATED:20260206T211149Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260206T211150Z
UID:62511-1771603200-1771606800@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Virtual freelance happy hour
DESCRIPTION:Freelancers are invited to a casual virtual happy hour — come as you are\, bring a drink\, and enjoy conversation with peers.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/virtual-freelance-happy-hour/
CATEGORIES:Event,Freelancers
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260226T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260226T140000
DTSTAMP:20260217T205132Z
CREATED:20260217T205130Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260217T205132Z
UID:62598-1772110800-1772114400@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Vaccine trends and misinformation among older adults
DESCRIPTION:Vaccine uptake for influenza\, COVID-19\, RSV and shingles among adults over age 60 remains low\, according to data from the University of Michigan and the CDC. Older adults with multiple chronic conditions are especially vulnerable to these diseases. Meanwhile\, emergency department visits and hospitalizations for some of these viruses are increasing\, CDC tracking data points to high respiratory virus activity in Alabama and trending upwards  in the Pacific Northwest\, California\, and parts of the south\, including Florida\, Louisiana and Arkansas.  Misinformation\, cost and fear of side effects are just a few of the rationales given for not staying up-to-date on these important preventive measures.  \n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, experts in epidemiology and infectious disease will review the latest data and immunization trends. We’ll also discuss how these vaccines may provide additional protective benefits beyond preventing severe disease and how journalists can help counter misinformation. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nLiz Seegert\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for AgingLiz Seegert is AHCJ’s health beat leader on aging. She’s an award-winning\, independent health journalist based in New York’s Hudson Valley\, who writes about caregiving\, dementia\, access to care\, nursing homes and policy. Seegert is also a contributing writer for Fortune.com\, the American Journal of Nursing\, and PBS/NextAvenue.org\, reporting on myriad health topics\, including social determinants of health and women’s health.  \n\n\n\nShe has written for TIME Health\, The Wirecutter\, Money.com\, Medscape\, Consumer Reports\, The Guardian and Medical Economics\, as well as dozens of other trade and mainstream media. Her articles have been syndicated in Forbes.com\, the Los Angeles Times\, the Hartford Courant\, The Saturday Evening Post and other major outlets. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJennifer Dowd\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nProfessor of demography and population health and deputy director\, Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science\, University of OxfordDr. Jenn Dowd has training in Demography\, Economics\, and Epidemiology\, earning a PhD from Princeton University and a postdoctoral fellowship as a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at the University of Michigan. \n\n\n\nJenn’s academic work focuses on statistical analysis of large datasets to better understand population health and mortality. She is interested in how the economic and social world “gets under the skin” to impact our biology. This has included deep dives into the biology of stress\, infections and immune function\, and the human microbiome. In a currently funded 5-year project from the European Research Council (ERC)\, she explores reasons underlying stalling life expectancy in the U.S. and Europe. \n\n\n\nSubscribe to Jenn’s Substack Newsletter: Data for Health \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPreeti Malani\, M.D.\, MSJ\n\n\n\nProfessor of medicine\, division of infectious diseases\, Michigan MedicineMalani’s research interests focus on at the intersection of infections and aging. She is deputy editor and director of editorial equity for JAMA and the JAMA Network and previously served as the University of Michigan’s chief health officer and as a member of Michigan’s COVID-19 Nursing Home Task Force during the height of the pandemic.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/vaccine-trends-and-misinformation-among-older-adults/
CATEGORIES:Aging,Infectious Diseases,Webinar
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260312T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260312T130000
DTSTAMP:20260312T210245Z
CREATED:20260302T184849Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260312T210245Z
UID:62749-1773316800-1773320400@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Understanding ChatGPT Health: How large language models are being used to triage care
DESCRIPTION:Earlier this year\, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health\, a feature allowing users to incorporate data from their medical records and wellness apps to ask questions about their health and test results\, and understand potential treatment options. \n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, panelists will cover how it works\, the potential benefits and cautions for this and other ChatGPT platforms\, how patients and physicians are using large language models in health care now\, and what journalists and consumers need to know. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nKaren Blum\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for AI and Patient SafetyKaren Blum is AHCJ’s health beat leader for AI and Patient Safety\, guiding coverage at the intersection of emerging technology and patient protection. An independent health and science journalist based in the Baltimore area\, she previously covered Health IT for AHCJ.  \n\n\n\nBlum has written for publications such as the Baltimore Sun\, Pharmacy Practice News\, Clinical Oncology News\, Clinical Laboratory News\, Cancer Today\, CURE\, AARP.org\, General Surgery News and Infectious Disease Special Edition; has covered numerous medical conferences for trade magazines and news services; and has written many profiles and articles on medical and science research as well as trends in health care and health IT. She has been a contest judge for AHCJ’s Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. Blum also is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and chairs its Virtual Education Committee. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHenry Bair\, M.D.\, MBA\n\n\n\nResident physician\, Wills Eye HospitalHenry Bair M.D.\, MBA\, is a resident physician at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. Previously\, he was a fellow at Stanford University’s Clinical Excellence Research Center\, a researcher at the Stanford Center for Policy\, Outcomes\, and Prevention\, and curriculum director of digital health courses at Stanford Medical School. His writings on health policy and digital health have appeared in JAMA Pediatrics\, NEJM AI\, Digital Health\, Public Health Reports\, and Academic Medicine\, as well as SF Chronicle\, The Hill\, STAT News\, and MedPage Today. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRachael Robertson\n\n\n\nEnterprise and investigative writer\, MedPage TodayRachael Robertson is a New York City-based health journalist and audio producer. She covers all things medicine as part of MedPage Today’s investigative and enterprise team\, with a particular focus on pop culture\, public health\, and medical misinformation. Rachael is also MedPage Today’s beat leader for ob/gyn news and the creator\, host\, and producer of the bi-weekly health news podcast MedPod Today. In 2025\, Rachael was one of AHCJ’s inaugural Uncovering Pathways to Better Health fellows. She is a proud graduate of the City University of New York’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Before pivoting careers to journalism\, Rachael worked in communications for a New York City elder care organization.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/understanding-chatgpt-health-on-demand-webinar/
CATEGORIES:AI and Patient Safety,Event,Webinar
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260317T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260317T130000
DTSTAMP:20260324T170827Z
CREATED:20260311T172847Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T170827Z
UID:62836-1773748800-1773752400@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:ACIP meeting countdown: COVID vaccine and what else is at stake
DESCRIPTION:Don’t miss this opportunity to get up to speed before the March 18-19 CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting. This webinar\, co-hosted by the Expert Vaccine Analysis Team and the Association of Health Care Journalists\, will provide independent\, evidence-based discussion of topics expected to come up during the meeting. \n\n\n\nThese items include vaccine safety and quality monitoring\, data on COVID vaccine safety\, possible recommendation votes related to COVID vaccine injuries\, and other issues\, such as the evidence framework the CDC uses to assess vaccine data and the risk/benefit analysis of vaccines. We will also discuss other emerging topics that may arise before the meeting. \n\n\n\nWhether you’re a journalist covering immunization policy\, a public health professional navigating a rapidly shifting vaccine landscape\, or a researcher tracking the latest safety data\, this webinar will help equip you with the scientific context you need to understand what’s at stake. The panel of senior vaccine scientists — including Norman Baylor\, Ph.D.\, Miles Braun\, M.D.\, Fiona Havers\, M.D.\, and Paul Offit\, M.D. — will cut through the noise and offer clear\, unbiased analysis. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nTara Haelle\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases and Medical StudiesTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist\, author\, speaker\, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic\, Scientific American\, Texas Monthly\, Science News\, Medscape/WebMD\, The New York Times\, Wired\, and O Magazine\, among others.  \n\n\n\nShe specializes in public health and medical research\, particularly vaccines\, infectious disease\, maternal and pediatric health\, mental health\, healthcare disparities\, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin\, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly\, NPR\, the\, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNorman W. Baylor\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nPresident and CEO\, Biologics Consulting GroupDr. Norman W. Baylor is an expert in the development and licensure of new vaccines\, evaluating numerous vaccines throughout his career including vaccines for acellular pertussis\, varicella\, pneumococcal conjugate\, human papillomavirus (HPV)\, influenza and shingles. He is currently the president and CEO of Biologics Consulting Group\, Inc\, where he is responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of the company. \n\n\n\nPrior to this\, he spent 20 years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)\, most recently as Director of the Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR) in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). In this role\, he oversaw all facets of the clinical and product regulatory review activity\, including quality assurance and oversight of review functions in addition to planning\, developing and administering CBER’s broad national and international programs and operational activities for vaccines and related products. Dr. Baylor served as FDA’s liaison to CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices\, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Vaccine Advisory Committee\, and the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines. He served on the board of the Infectious Disease Research Institute and continues to serve as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization on several global vaccine initiatives. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFiona P. Havers\, M.D.\n\n\n\nAdjunct associate professor\, Emory University School of MedicineFiona Havers\, MD\, MHS\, FIDSA\, is an infectious diseases physician and former medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Havers is a senior subject matter expert on vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases and vaccine policy. She was the CDC lead of the Respiratory Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network (RESP-NET) Team in the Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division within the U.S. CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Dr. Havers oversaw the COVID-19 and RSV platforms within RESP-NET\, a population-based surveillance platform that covers ~9% of the US population and collects data on COVID-19\, RSV\, and influenza-associated hospitalizations. Dr. Havers left CDC in June 2025.  \n\n\n\nThe author of >100 publications while at CDC\, Dr. Havers’ research interests have focused on the epidemiology\, prevention\, treatment and vaccine policy for vaccine-preventable respiratory pathogens\, including influenza\, pertussis\, RSV and SARS-CoV-2. She was previously the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Work Group lead for the Pertussis Vaccines Work Group and has worked extensively on COVID-19 and adult RSV vaccine policy\, including as senior author on the initial adult RSV vaccine ACIP policy recommendations published in 2023. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPaul A. Offit\, M.D.\n\n\n\nDirector\, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education CenterPaul A. Offit\, M.D.\, is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Offit is currently a voting member on the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee and has previously served on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices to the CDC. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine\, RotaTeq\, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC in 2006 and by the WHO in 2013. This vaccine was estimated recently to save about 165\,000 lives a year. He is also the author of 11 books written for the public about science\, medicine\, and vaccines. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nM. Miles Braun\, M.D.\n\n\n\nAdjunct professor\, Georgetown University School of MedicineIn April 2018\, M. Miles Braun MD MPH\, was appointed Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Braun directs a new educational initiative to bring integrative approaches to optimize health and quality of life of adolescent and young adult cancer patients\, survivors and caregivers. Integrative approaches include mind and body practices\, natural products and lifestyle modifications.  \n\n\n\nDr. Braun is board-certified in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine. He served for 20 years as a medical officer in the US Public Health Service (USPHS)\, including at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)\, National Institutes of Health (NIH)\, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) where he was for more than 8 years Director of the Division of Epidemiology in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. He has received more than 20 USPHS awards and authored or co-authored well over 100 scientfic-medical publications\, including multiple studies with important clinical impact and epidemiological studies on the causes of various cancers. Dr. Braun has practiced yoga (including meditation) for 25 years\, is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance (RYT200)\, has completed multiple trainings and has extensive personal experience with integrative approaches.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/acip-meeting-countdown-on-demand-webinar/
CATEGORIES:Health Policy,Infectious Diseases,Webinar
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260319T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260319T140000
DTSTAMP:20260311T210418Z
CREATED:20260311T210416Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260311T210418Z
UID:62845-1773925200-1773928800@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Lunch and Learn: How to land a pitch
DESCRIPTION:Freelancers\, what was the secret to your successful pitches? We’ll talk about how to pitch for different types of stories—narrative\, short explanatory pieces\, wellness\, trade publications\, and more. \n\n\n\nAt AHCJ’s Lunch and Learns\, freelancer members chat about a designated topic over Zoom every third Thursday of the month at 1 p.m. ET. Registration is required for Lunch and Learns and is only available to current freelance AHCJ members.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/lunch-and-learn-how-to-land-a-pitch/
CATEGORIES:Freelancers,Lunch and Learn
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://healthjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Lunch-and-Learn-Logo.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260320T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260320T170000
DTSTAMP:20260206T211339Z
CREATED:20260206T211338Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260206T211339Z
UID:62513-1774022400-1774026000@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Virtual freelance happy hour
DESCRIPTION:Freelancers are invited to a casual virtual happy hour — come as you are\, bring a drink\, and enjoy conversation with peers.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/virtual-freelance-happy-hour-2/
CATEGORIES:Event,Freelancers
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260416T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260416T140000
DTSTAMP:20260324T211015Z
CREATED:20260324T211012Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T211015Z
UID:63002-1776344400-1776348000@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Lunch and Learn: How to stay accountable
DESCRIPTION:Think about your goals for your freelance work: Are you hoping to get assignments from a wider number of publications? Or maybe from a “dream” publication? Do you want to be more organized and productive? Or just to feel more encouraged and motivated?  \n\n\n\nWe’ll talk about how to stay focused on your goals\, either with an “accountability partner” or by finding your own way to stay accountable. \n\n\n\nAt AHCJ’s Lunch and Learns\, freelancer members chat about a designated topic over Zoom every third Thursday of the month at 1 p.m. ET. Registration is required for Lunch and Learns and is only available to current freelance AHCJ members.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/lunch-and-learn-how-to-stay-accountable/
CATEGORIES:Freelancers,Lunch and Learn
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://healthjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Lunch-and-Learn-Logo.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260424T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260424T170000
DTSTAMP:20260415T162725Z
CREATED:20260206T211516Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260415T162725Z
UID:62515-1777046400-1777050000@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Virtual freelance happy hour
DESCRIPTION:Freelancers are invited to a casual virtual happy hour — come as you are\, bring a drink\, and enjoy conversation with peers.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/virtual-freelance-happy-hour-3/
CATEGORIES:Event,Freelancers
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260428T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260428T170000
DTSTAMP:20260407T213415Z
CREATED:20260407T213414Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260407T213415Z
UID:63191-1777392000-1777395600@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:HJ26 PitchFest Prep
DESCRIPTION:Whether it’s your first or tenth time at PitchFest\, please join this virtual session to review the dos and don’ts of your one-on-one with editors. The PitchFest committee will share feedback it has gotten from previous years’ editors and advice on how to make the most of your 10-minute time slots. \n\n\n\nThis year’s PitchFest will take place at Health Journalism 2026 in Minneapolis.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/hj26-pitchfest-prep/
CATEGORIES:Webinar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://healthjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Pitchfest-logo-cropped.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260513T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260513T140000
DTSTAMP:20260513T213358Z
CREATED:20260507T221224Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260513T213358Z
UID:63590-1778677200-1778680800@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Maternal Tdap vaccine: The evidence behind it and how to tell the story
DESCRIPTION:Pertussis (whooping cough) cases are on the rise\, and infants remain the most vulnerable population. Tdap vaccination during pregnancy is one of the most effective tools we have to protect newborns before they are old enough to be vaccinated themselves. In this webinar\, you will hear from two expert groups working at the forefront of vaccine communication and evidence translation.  \n\n\n\nThe Vaccine Integrity Project will present their evidence review of the current data on Tdap safety and efficacy in pregnancy\, and The Evidence Collective will share the most common questions they hear from communities both on- and offline and discuss practical strategies for addressing them effectively. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nTara Haelle\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases and Medical StudiesTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist\, author\, speaker\, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic\, Scientific American\, Texas Monthly\, Science News\, Medscape/WebMD\, The New York Times\, Wired\, and O Magazine\, among others. She specializes in public health and medical research\, particularly vaccines\, infectious disease\, maternal and pediatric health\, mental health\, healthcare disparities\, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin\, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly\, NPR\, the\, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBertha A. Hidalgo\, Ph.D.\, MPH\, FACE\n\n\n\nSteering committee\, The Evidence CollectiveDr. Bertha Hidalgo an Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Epidemiology and Associate Dean for the Office of Access and Engagement at the UAB School of Public Health. She holds degrees from Stanford University\, the University of Southern California and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She leads research programs in genetic epidemiology and dissemination science.  \n\n\n\nDr. Hidalgo has a highly productive record of peer-reviewed research in relevant research areas with publications as lead or co-lead author in high-impact journals including Nature\, Scientific Reports\, Diabetes\, American Journal of Public Health\, with over 100 publications in total as lead\, co-author or senior author. She has attained research funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation\, National Institutes of Health\, the American Heart Association\, and internal funding from UAB.  \n\n\n\nDr. Hidalgo is the past chair of the Minority Affairs committee and current President of theAmerican College of Epidemiology\, as well as a long-standing member on the NHLBI Board of External Experts. Dr. Hidalgo is also a recipient of the 2019 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Early Career Achievement Award. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nElisabeth Marnik\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nExecutive director\, The Evidence CollectiveDr. Elisabeth Adkins Marnik is a science communicator and immunologist working at the intersection of public trust\, science\, and public health. She earned her PhD in genetics and immunology from Tufts University. \n\n\n\nRaised in a family that distrusted science and vaccines\, Liz brings a personal understanding of hesitancy to her work. During the COVID-19 pandemic\, she launched Science Whiz Liz to help the public navigate emerging health information\, combining lived experience with scientific expertise. Liz now leads national efforts to translate evidence into clear\, responsible\, and empathetic public communication. She is an inaugural member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Building Trust in Health Science Through Community Partnership and Lived Experience and was named to Mainebiz’s 2025 40 Under 40 for her leadership in science education and public engagement. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEmily Senerth\, M.S.\, MPH\n\n\n\nConsultant researcher\, Evidence FoundationEmily Senerth\, M.S.\, MPH\, is a Consultant Researcher for Evidence Foundation\, a registered nonprofit organization based in Cleveland\, Ohio whose mission is to support evidence-based health care through training\, mentorship\, education\, and collaboration. Emily managed the development of a rapid systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness and safety of Tdap vaccination during pregnancy commissioned by the Vaccine Integrity Project. \n\n\n\nShe has also led methodological reviews to investigate systematic review approaches and decision-making frameworks in environmental and occupational health\, systematic reviews on the health effects of noise annoyance and the impact of socioeconomic status on faltering weight\, and technical reviews to support the development of guideline recommendations on left atrial appendage occlusion\, management of chronic venous disease\, diagnosis and treatment of pediatric urinary tract infection\, and lung cancer screening. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRochelle Walensky\, M.D.\, MPH\n\n\n\nProfessor of medicine\, Harvard Medical SchoolMedical affairs adviser\, Vaccine Integrity ProjectDr. Rochelle Walensky is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the medical affairs adviser for the Vaccine Integrity Project. \n\n\n\nDr. Walensky served as the 19th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021-23)\, Professor of Medicine\, Harvard Medical School (2012-2021)\, and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases\, Massachusetts General Hospital (2017-2021). Dr. Walensky is a board-certified infectious disease clinician whose research and over 300 peer-reviewed publications has focused on infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS policy\, including cost-effective strategies for HIV screening\, treatment\, and prevention\, both in the U.S. and around the globe. \n\n\n\nDr. Walensky is a member of the American Academy of Physicians\, National Academy of Medicine\, and Council on Foreign Relations. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees at the Doris Duke Foundation and The Carter Center. She is also a founding member and Medical Affairs Advisor at the Vaccine Integrity Project\, which is dedicated to providing trusted\, science-based information for informed vaccine choices. \n\n\n\nDr. Walensky received her BA (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology\, 1991) from Washington University in St. Louis; her MD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (1995) and her MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health (Clinical Effectiveness\, 2001). She completed her Internal Medicine residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital (1995-1998) and her Infectious Disease fellowship at the Massachusetts General/Brigham and Women’s Hospital combined program (1998-2001).
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2026/05/maternal-tdap-vaccine-webinar/
CATEGORIES:Event,Infectious Diseases,Webinar
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260527T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260530T235959
DTSTAMP:20260121T224603Z
CREATED:20260121T224600Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260121T224603Z
UID:62297-1779840000-1780185599@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Health Journalism 2026
DESCRIPTION:Pack your bags for the City of Lakes! The Association of Health Care Journalists and the Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism are thrilled to bring Health Journalism ’26 to Minneapolis from May 27–30. Expect four energizing days of immersive field trips\, standout sessions\, hands-on workshops and abundant opportunities to connect with colleagues from across the country. \n\n\n\n“I’m excited that we’re returning to the middle of the country for our annual conference\, after holding the last two in LA and New York\,” said Gideon Gil\, AHCJ board president. “This year\, we’re starting the conference a day earlier\, on a Wednesday\, and ending on Saturday afternoon\, to make it easier for attendees to stay through the last sessions before having to head home.” \n\n\n\nAt a moment when truth and accountability matter more than ever\, we’ll bring together journalists\, health care professionals\, policymakers and industry experts for timely discussions. Be a part of the conversation (and pitch your ideas for sessions until Jan. 30\, 2026) as we explore health care’s biggest challenges and examine emerging opportunities and solutions. As always\, you’ll walk away with plenty of story ideas and new contacts. \n\n\n\nThis year’s conference will also feature the 22nd annual Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism\, a celebration of the best work in health care reporting. \n\n\n\n“AHCJ is committed to moving our conference around the U.S. to make it more accessible to our members\,” said Kelsey Ryan\, AHCJ executive director. “We’re excited to give a national lens to local places each year\, and Minneapolis has a lot that everyone can learn from.”  \n\n\n\nBeyond the sessions\, Minneapolis offers so much to see and do. Visit George Floyd Square at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue\, which will soon have a memorial. Listen to live music on First Avenue or wander through the legendary Minneapolis Sculpture Garden\, home to Claes Oldenburg’s iconic “Spoonbridge and Cherry” sculpture. Dive into the city’s vibrant art scene at the Minneapolis Institute of Art\, the Mill City Museum\, the Weisman Art Museum and the Walker Art Center. And don’t forget to schedule a guided tour of Paisley Park\, Prince’s former home and recording studio. \n\n\n\nMore details coming soon — but for now\, save the dates\, submit a session pitch and start making plans to be in Minneapolis!
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/training-events/health-journalism-2026/
CATEGORIES:Annual Conference,Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://healthjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/HJ26-landscape-logo.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260630T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260630T130000
DTSTAMP:20260701T172322Z
CREATED:20260622T193639Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260701T172322Z
UID:64049-1782820800-1782824400@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Behind the Ebola outbreak: An expert backgrounder for journalists
DESCRIPTION:As a widespread outbreak of the little-known Ebola Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda continues to command global attention and generate controversy\, accurate and nuanced reporting has never been more important.  \n\n\n\nJoin the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) and the Expert Vaccine Analysis Team (EVAT) for a one-hour briefing and discussion that will help journalists and other communicators build a deeper understanding of the virus — including its epidemiology and spread\, strategies for containment\, what the US needs to do to be prepared\, and the latest advances in vaccines and treatments.  \n\n\n\nThis one-hour webinar brings together prominent\, experienced voices in infectious disease\, public health\, and vaccines to walk reporters through the core science in plain\, accessible terms\, including:  \n\n\n\n\nCraig Spencer\, M.D.\, MPH\, an emergency medicine physician and Associate Professor at Brown University. He was deeply involved in the 2014 Ebola response in Guinea\, both as a physician responding to the outbreak and then\, as a survivor of the disease.\n\n\n\nDaniel Jernigan\, M.D.\, a former CDC leader of multiple responses to public health emergencies\, including the 2014 Ebola response in Sierra Leone and in the US.\n\n\n\nMary Bassett\, M.D.\, MPH\, Professor at the Harvard University School of Public Health who was New York City’s Health Commissioner from 2014–2018\, leading its Ebola response.\n\n\n\nPhilip Krause\, M.D.\, a virologist and infectious diseases specialist who serves as Chair of WHO COVID Vaccines Research Expert Group. He was formerly Deputy Director of FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review. \n\n\n\n\nThe session will be moderated by AHCJ’s Tara Haelle and incorporate ample time for Q&A.  \n\n\n\nWho Should Attend? \n\n\n\n\nScience\, health\, and international affairs journalists seeking authoritative background for their Ebola coverage. \n\n\n\nPublic health professionals and others who want a better understanding of the current Ebola landscape.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nTara Haelle\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases and Medical StudiesTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist\, author\, speaker\, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic\, Scientific American\, Texas Monthly\, Science News\, Medscape/WebMD\, The New York Times\, Wired\, and O Magazine\, among others. She specializes in public health and medical research\, particularly vaccines\, infectious disease\, maternal and pediatric health\, mental health\, healthcare disparities\, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin\, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly\, NPR\, the\, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMary Bassett\, M.D.\, MPH\n\n\n\nProfessor of the practice of health and human rights\, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthMary T. Bassett is the Director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University\, as well as the FXB Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health. With more than 30 years of experience in public health\, Dr. Mary Travis Bassett has dedicated her career to advancing health equity. Prior to her directorship at the FXB Center\, Dr. Bassett served for four years as commissioner of Health for New York City. As commissioner\, she worked to ensure that every New York City neighborhood supported the health of its residents\, with the goal of closing gaps in population health across the city. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDaniel Jernigan\, M.D.\, MPH\n\n\n\nFormer director\, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases\, CDCDaniel B. Jernigan\, M.D.\, MPH\, recently resigned his position as Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Jernigan completed training at Duke University and Baylor College of Medicine and has completed residencies in Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine. \n\n\n\nHe entered the CDC in 1994 as an Epidemic Intelligence Officer\, and has been studying respiratory and emerging diseases since that time. He is a retired Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service and was the recipient of the 2019 Service to America Medal. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPhilip Krause\, M.D.\n\n\n\nChair\, WHO COVID Vaccines Research Expert GroupDr. Krause was for the past decade Deputy Director\, Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR) at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). Dr. Krause is currently Chair of the World Health Organization COVID Vaccines Research Expert Group\, and most recently he shared responsibility for regulatory authorizations of COVID-19 vaccines in the US. \n\n\n\nIn a 30-year career at FDA Dr. Krause has collaborated at the highest levels with international and US domestic stakeholders including the European Medicines Association (EMA)\, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)\, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCraig Spencer\, M.D.\, MPH\n\n\n\nPublic health professor and emergency medicine physician\, Brown University School of Public HealthCraig Spencer\, M.D.\, MPH is an emergency medicine physician\, public health researcher\, and Associate Professor of the Practice of Health Services\, Policy\, and Practice at Brown University School of Public Health. His work spans global health and domestic community engagement — connecting nearly two decades of frontline humanitarian experience to an emerging body of research and practice focused on rebuilding public trust in American health institutions. \n\n\n\nDr. Spencer’s field work has taken him across Africa and Southeast Asia as a physician and epidemiologist with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)\, including leading outbreak investigations in Burundi\, the Democratic Republic of Congo\, South Sudan\, and Chad\, and serving as a coordinator of MSF’s national epidemiological response during the West Africa Ebola epidemic.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/behind-the-ebola-outbreak-an-expert-backgrounder-for-journalists/
CATEGORIES:Event,Infectious Diseases,Webinar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://healthjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/AHCJ-EVAT-ebola-webinar-featured-img.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260701T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260701T160000
DTSTAMP:20260702T154258Z
CREATED:20260623T164219Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260702T154258Z
UID:64068-1782918000-1782921600@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:How a new White House proposal could fundamentally change American science
DESCRIPTION:The second Trump administration has created upheaval in the biomedical research community. Widespread grant terminations\, fast-changing policy changes\, and proposals to downsize federal spending have created unease among a group that has largely been able to lean on the government as a partner.  \n\n\n\nIn late May\, another move caught the attention of many in the world of science: a 412-page proposal to change the regulation governing all contracts with the federal government. Issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget\, the plan would alter the lay of the land for all research grants. Among the changes is a de-prioritization of peer review and greater latitude for political appointees to terminate grants.  \n\n\n\nIt has garnered widespread attention from the scientific community because of the potentially wide-ranging impacts of the proposal. Join a STAT reporter who has covered the issue\, a former NIH official\, a government relations professional and a leading research for an exploration of this specific policy and what your audience may want to know before the public comment period closes on July 13. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nAnil Oza\n\n\n\nGeneral assignment reporter\, STATAnil Oza is a general assignment reporter at STAT\, where he covers health equity & the NIH. He previously covered all things science\, from grassroots efforts to study the effect of urban heat to the elusiveness of urban rats\, for NPR’s Short Wave\, Science News\, and Nature. He got his start as the assistant managing editor and science editor of his college newspaper\, The Cornell Daily Sun\, where he covered the Covid-19 pandemic. His coverage of the Trump administration’s upheaval of federally-funded research was part of a package of stories that won a 2026 George Polk Award\, and 3rd place in AHCJ’s awards for excellence in health policy. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSean Gallagher\n\n\n\nDeputy director of federal relations\, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Mr. Gallagher serves as AAAS’ liaison to Congress and the executive branch. After spending 7 years on Capitol Hill\, he now spearheads grassroots efforts and focuses on engaging and encouraging scientists to demonstrate their value to their peers\, the media\, and policymakers. Sean has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University and received his Bachelor’s in Political Science from Villanova University. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nElizabeth Ginexi\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nIndependent health science consultantFormer senior program official\, National Institutes of Health (NIH)Dr. Elizabeth Ginexi served the National Institutes of Health for 22 years as a Program Official\, shaping biomedical and behavioral health research strategy. During her tenure\, she managed a portfolio of 305 grants totaling $132 million across several institutes and centers\, and co-authored 18 funding initiatives that generated 1\,087 projects totaling $778 million spanning mental health\, substance use prevention\, pain management\, data science\, and health services research. She left NIH in April 2025 because she witnessed the new leadership replacing NIH’s scientifically-driven system with one that is politically directed and violates the Public Health Service Act of 1944. She has been writing about the dismantling of the NIH on substack since December 2025. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEric Rubin\, M.D.\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nEditor-in-chief\, The New England Journal of Medicine\, NEJM GroupEric J. Rubin\, M.D.\, Ph.D.\, joined the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and NEJM Group as Editor-in-Chief in September 2019\, taking on the responsibility for oversight of all editorial content and policies. \n\n\n\nDr. Rubin is an Associate Physician specializing in infectious disease at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is a Professor in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He serves on several scientific advisory boards to groups interested in infectious disease therapeutics. Dr. Rubin has also previously served as the Associate Editor for Infectious Disease at the New England Journal of Medicine as well as an editor for several basic science journals including PLoS Pathogens\, Tuberculosis\, and mBio.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2026/07/how-a-new-white-house-proposal-could-fundamentally-change-american-science/
CATEGORIES:Event,Health Policy,Webinar
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260810T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260810T150000
DTSTAMP:20260724T221506Z
CREATED:20260721T212209Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260724T221506Z
UID:64702-1786370400-1786374000@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:AHCJ's Netherlands Health Care Study Group: How to apply
DESCRIPTION:Join us for an informational webinar about the AHCJ International Health Care Study Group\, a weeklong\, immersive experience in the Netherlands this November. Selected U.S.-based journalists will explore the Dutch health system. \n\n\n\nSupported by The Commonwealth Fund\, the program covers airfare\, lodging\, meals\, local transportation and more. Participants will leave with deeply reported stories and new perspectives on cost\, coverage\, equity and care delivery. \n\n\n\nLearn how to apply\, ask questions about the program and get tips for strengthening your application. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nParticipants from the 2025 International Health Care Study Group in Germany.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/ahcjs-netherlands-health-care-study-group-how-to-apply/
CATEGORIES:Event,Fellowships,Webinar
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260819T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260819T140000
DTSTAMP:20260819T215605Z
CREATED:20260721T162929Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T215605Z
UID:64677-1787144400-1787148000@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Covering health care affordability: A big story with major impact
DESCRIPTION:In the first entry in a series for STAT News\, “Out of Pocket\, Out of Reach\,” reporter Bob Herman showed that since 1987\, the cost of health insurance for employers and workers has risen by 979% while overall inflation in that time rose by 176%\, an increase of more than 450%. Such huge increases are harming workers and businesses of all sizes\, as his reporting demonstrates. \n\n\n\nAbout 80% of companies with fewer than 200 workers offered health insurance in the late 1990s\, he reported\, while only 59% do so today. Instead\, workers are steered toward the Affordable Care Act Marketplace\, where they pay higher premiums than ever. Mid-sized and large employers cut staff when health insurance costs rise. When employers cut staff\, communities suffer as unemployment rises\, leading to suicides and drug and alcohol abuse\, researchers have reported. \n\n\n\nJoin Bob Herman and Joe Burns\, AHCJ’s Health Beat Leader for Health Policy and Insurance\, for a conversation and Q&A about a topic that applies to every town\, city and state as small businesses struggle with rising insurance costs and employees face daunting financial decisions. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nJoseph Burns\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for Health Policy\, InsuranceJoseph Burns is AHCJ’s health beat leader on health policy and insurance. He’s an independent journalist based in Brewster\, Mass.\, who has covered health care\, health policy and the business of care since 1991. Burns has written for a variety of publications\, including The New York Times\, Fortune\, Hospitals & Health Networks\, and Medical Economics\, among others.  \n\n\n\nEarly in his journalism career\, Burns worked as a reporter in Connecticut\, first for The Wallingford Post (a weekly)\, and then The Meriden Record-Journal (a daily)\, and later for The Hartford Courant (the largest daily newspaper in the state and the nation’s oldest newspaper). For The Courant\, he was a reporter\, copy editor and regional news editor. During this time\, he also taught news writing at the University of Connecticut. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBob Herman\n\n\n\nBusiness of Health Care Reporter\, STATBob Herman covers the money in health care\, focusing on health insurance and hospitals. His stories delve into Medicare Advantage\, opaque prescription drug benefits\, and how much executives actually make. He was named a Pulitzer co-finalist in 2024 for the series “Denied by AI.” He co-won a 2025 George Polk Award for the series “Health Care’s Colossus.” Bob also writes the weekly Health Care Inc. newsletter. \n\n\n\nBefore joining STAT in 2022\, Bob worked at Axios and Modern Healthcare. He graduated from Butler University in Indianapolis. He lives in Indiana and is obsessed with basketball and running.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2026/08/covering-health-care-affordability-a-big-story-with-major-impact/
CATEGORIES:Event,Insurance,Webinar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://healthjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/covering-health-care-affordability.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260825T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260825T130000
DTSTAMP:20260811T203939Z
CREATED:20260721T211252Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260811T203939Z
UID:64699-1787659200-1787662800@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:How to apply for AHCJ's U.S. Health System and International Health reporting fellowships
DESCRIPTION:Applications are now open for two of our most competitive and career-changing reporting fellowships: The U.S. Health System Reporting Fellowship and the AHCJ International Health Study Fellowship. These opportunities are your chance to take on ambitious projects\, sharpen your skills and bring vital health stories to life with the time\, resources and support you need. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSpecial thanks to The Commonwealth Fund for supporting these opportunities. \n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, viewers hear from AHCJ and program alumni about how these opportunities advance the craft of health journalism and encourage nuanced\, informed reporting that can drive meaningful change in health care systems worldwide. Start working on your project pitches\, talk to your editors and apply early!
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/how-to-apply-for-ahcjs-u-s-health-system-and-international-health-reporting-fellowships/
CATEGORIES:Event,Fellowships,Webinar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260826T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260826T140000
DTSTAMP:20260804T211208Z
CREATED:20260804T211206Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260804T211208Z
UID:64926-1787749200-1787752800@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Tracking the rocky path of the Trump Administration's $50 billion rural payout
DESCRIPTION:Rural Health Webinar Series\n\n\n\nThis webinar is Part 1 of our 2026 Rural Health Webinar Series. Attend at least four of our five sessions\, complete a brief knowledge check and earn an AHCJ Certification in Covering Rural Health for your resume. Learn more » \n\n\n\n\n\nJoin us for a conversation with a panel of experts who will walk you through the Trump administration’s five-year $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. States won millions in first-year funding — from $147 million in New Jersey to $281 million in Texas — and must have the money committed to projects by the end of September. \n\n\n\nYou’ll walk away with an understanding of how this money dovetails with looming Medicaid cuts and learn the key rollout dates to follow. Panelists will offer concrete story angles\, data sources\, and sharp accountability questions so you can track where the money is going in your state — and report on what it really means for rural hospitals\, clinics\, and patients. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nSarah Jane Tribble\n\n\n\nChief rural correspondent\, KFF Health NewsSarah Jane Tribble is the lead reporter on the rural health desk of KFF Health News. She created the organization’s first narrative podcast\, “Where It Hurts\,” about the closure of a rural Kansas hospital. An Emmy winner\, she has received honors for her work from the National Press Club\, the National Institute for Health Care Management\, and the Association of Health Care Journalists. Before joining KFF Health News\, she covered the health care industry in Cleveland for NPR and PBS\, and spent more than a decade as a reporter for major newspapers from the Carolinas to California. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKevin Bennett\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nProfessor of family & preventive medicine\, University of South Carolina School of MedicineDirector\, South Carolina Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare.Dr. Bennett is a Professor of Family & Preventive Medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia\, SC. He serves as the Director of the South Carolina Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare. He served as the president of the National Rural Health Association in 2024. \n\n\n\nHis work focuses on improving healthcare delivery for marginalized and underserved communities\, particularly in rural areas\, while examining the influence of national\, state\, or local policies and legislation on these populations. He has worked extensively with community groups\, rural health networks\, healthcare systems\, and state agencies to pioneer and assess innovative care delivery programs. He also has an extensive publication history examining the disparities in healthcare access\, quality\, and outcomes experienced by rural populations. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKatie Klingsporn\n\n\n\nReporter\, WyoFileKatie Klingsporn reports on health\, education\, outdoor recreation and general news for WyoFile. She’s been a journalist and editor covering the American West for more than 20 years. She lives in Lander\, Wyoming with her family. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMaya Sandalow\n\n\n\nAssociate director\, Bipartisan Policy Center Health Program.Maya Sandalow is an associate director for BPC’s Health Program\, where she leads work on health innovation policy. Her portfolio includes digital health\, artificial intelligence\, rural health\, behavioral health\, and nutrition. Before joining BPC\, Sandalow served as a social science research analyst at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. She has also held roles at the Center for Science in the Public Interest\, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities\, and Georgetown University’s Health Justice Alliance. Sandalow began her career as an AmeriCorps fellow at a San Francisco Department of Public Health primary care clinic. \n\n\n\nSandalow holds a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a bachelor’s from Claremont McKenna College. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAdam Searing\n\n\n\nAssociate professor\, Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families.Adam Searing is an Associate Professor of the Practice at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families where he focuses on Medicaid and other health coverage programs. \n\n\n\nBefore joining CCF\, Mr. Searing served seventeen years as Director of the Health Access Coalition for the North Carolina Justice Center. The Health Access Coalition is North Carolina’s leading voice for health reforms that address the needs of the uninsured and underinsured. During his tenure\, Searing fought to keep health plans and hospitals nonprofit and community-focused\, won and helped implement expansions of the state Medicaid program\, helped pass a model state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program and worked on passage and implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act. In addition\, Mr. Searing taught public policy courses as adjunct faculty at both the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health and the Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy. \n\n\n\nSearing is a licensed attorney with degrees in both law and public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/rural-health-webinar-series-2026-part-1-trump-payout/
CATEGORIES:Rural Health 2026,Webinar,Workshops | Summits
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260828T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260828T120000
DTSTAMP:20260828T214621Z
CREATED:20260821T205333Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T214621Z
UID:65270-1787914800-1787918400@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Everyone's talking about peptides: What reporters should know
DESCRIPTION:Peptides made headlines this summer when an FDA advisory panel decided compounding pharmacies could prepare six peptides for patients with a prescription. Great news for wellness influencers\, celebrities and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — among the many people who have touted the benefits of peptides for muscle growth\, fat loss\, anti-aging and enhanced athletic performance. But what are peptides\, and are they safe?  \n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, medical experts Dhruv Khullar\, an associate professor of health policy and economics at Weill Cornell Medical College\, and Rachel Frank\, professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine\, will help you get a handle on what you need to know about peptides\, what the media often gets wrong when reporting on them\, and what stories still deserve to be explored. As always\, the discussion will be followed by a Q&A. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nKaren Blum\n\n\n\nAHCJ’s Health Beat Leader for AI and Patient SafetyKaren Blum is a Baltimore-based freelance writer who covers AI and patient safety for the Association of Health Care Journalists. She writes about health\, medicine and science for a variety of outlets. Her articles have appeared in the Baltimore Sun\, AARP\, Cure\, Medscape\, and numerous medical trade magazines such as Anesthesiology News\, Pharmacy Practice News\, Clinical Oncology News\, Kidney News\, Clinical Laboratory News and Ophthalmology Management. She also has written profiles and feature articles for alumni and association magazines and offers copy editing services. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from Northwestern University. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nAnna Medaris\n\n\n\nAHCJ’s Freelance Beat LeaderAnna Medaris is AHCJ’s Freelance Beat Leader and head of the association’s New York City chapter. A health and lifestyle journalist with more than 15 years of experience\, she’s written for publications including The Washington Post\, Women’s Health\, New York Magazine\, the New York Post\, AARP\, Business Insider and US New & World Report. She’s also appeared as a health expert on the “TODAY Show\,” “Good Morning America” and Hulu’s “Age of Influence.” Anna is a graduate of the University of Michigan\, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa\, and of American University\, where she earned her master’s in interactive journalism. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRachel Frank\, M.D.\n\n\n\nProfessor in Orthopaedic Surgery\, University of Colorado School of MedicineRachel Frank\, M.D.\, is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine surgeon. Frank serves as professor in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine\, is head orthopaedic surgeon for the Colorado Rapids professional soccer team\, and is a team physician for US Soccer. Frank has authored or co-authored over 400 peer-reviewed journal articles\, over 50 book chapters\, and presents her research both nationally and internationally at orthopaedic meetings every year. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDhruv Khullar\, M.D.\, M.P.P.\n\n\n\nAssociate Professor of Health Policy and Economics\, Weill Cornell Medical CollegeDhruv Khullar\, M.D.\, M.P.P.\, is a physician and associate professor of health policy and economics at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is also a writer at The New Yorker\, where he covers medicine\, health care\, and politics. He serves as director of The Physicians Foundation Center for the Study of Physician Practice and Leadership\, and associate director of the Cornell Health Policy Center. His research focuses on value-based care\, health care consolidation\, and medical innovation\, and has been published in JAMA and The New England Journal of Medicine. \n\n\n\nKhullar earned his medical degree at the Yale School of Medicine and completed his medical training at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He also received a master’s in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School\, where he was a fellow at the Center for Public Leadership. He has been recognized by the National Academy of Medicine as an Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine\, the National Minority Quality Forum as a 40 Under 40 Leader in Health\, and FASPE with the 2019 Distinguished Fellow Award for Ethical Leadership. His writing was featured in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2025.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/peptides-what-reporters-should-know/
CATEGORIES:AI and Patient Safety,Event,Freelancers,Webinar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://healthjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/peptides-webinar-new-img.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260901T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260901T150000
DTSTAMP:20260819T153527Z
CREATED:20260819T153524Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T153527Z
UID:65219-1788271200-1788274800@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Federal health agencies won't talk to the press. What now?
DESCRIPTION:As reporters\, we’ve all been there: You send an email to the Health and Human Services press office\, or fill out the press inquiries form at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website\, and then… nothing. Or worse\, you get a canned response attributable to no one\, or an “off-the-record” response saying the government has no comment. What to do next?  \n\n\n\nIn this 1-hour webinar\, three experienced health reporters will describe their experiences being stonewalled by these government agencies and how they managed to do great reporting in spite of it. You’ll also hear from an expert on press freedom who will discuss trends in this area and resources available to reporters who need — or want — to take further action.  \n\n\n\nPanelists include: \n\n\n\n\nSheryl Gay Stolberg\, health policy reporter for The New York Times.\n\n\n\nRobert King\, CMS reporter for Politico\n\n\n\nBob Herman\, business of healthcare reporter for STAT\n\n\n\nCaitlin Vogus\, senior advisor for advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation \n\n\n\n\nThe panel will be moderated by Joyce Frieden\, Washington editor for MedPage Today and co-chair of the Association of Health Care Journalists’ Right-to-Know Committee. After each panelist’s presentation\, there will be a short Q&A period.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/federal-health-agencies-wont-talk-to-the-press-what-now/
CATEGORIES:Event,Webinar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260902T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260902T140000
DTSTAMP:20260902T215730Z
CREATED:20260804T213511Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T215730Z
UID:64939-1788354000-1788357600@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Rural health\, data\, and data challenges in the age of rural transformation
DESCRIPTION:Rural Health Webinar Series\n\n\n\nThis webinar is part of our 2026 Rural Health Webinar Series. Attend at least four of our five sessions\, complete a brief knowledge check and earn an AHCJ Certification in Covering Rural Health for your resume. Learn more » \n\n\n\n\n\nAccess to accurate\, varied rural data is key to accounting for\, supporting\, and enabling rural residents and their communities to thrive. It’s also crucial for journalists reporting on the health of people living in rural areas and the institutions serving them. At the same time\, constraints and limitations in the collection and use of rural data can complicate those efforts. This webinar will focus on the current landscape of rural areas as it relates to health\, healthcare and public health. \n\n\n\nYou’ll learn about the challenges in the collection and measurement of rural data\, limitations related to geographic scope\, and the administrative burdens associated with purchasing or accessing rural data. Lastly\, you’ll learn where to find rural data and what to keep in mind when covering or reviewing this data. You’ll leave with a better understanding of the rural health story\, how data supports that story\, and how data challenges can be detrimental to supporting people and their communities. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nKatherine Reed\n\n\n\nDirector of education and content\, AHCJReed was a professor of practice in the Missouri School of Journalism for 17 years and an editor at the Columbia Missourian — the newsroom lab for students learning print and digital journalism — where she taught health and public safety reporting. She also designed and taught a course on covering trauma and a course for STEM field and journalism students on improving science communication.  \n\n\n\nReed came to the school of journalism from Prague in the Czech Republic where she was the editor of Prague Business Journal and an instructor at the Center for Independent Journalism. She was a reporter and copy editor for several years and taught journalism before moving to the Czech Republic. She was a fellow of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma and is a longtime member of AHCJ. Reed has published on the teaching hospital model of journalism education\, trauma reporting training and more responsible\, ethical coverage of mass shootings. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMichael Meit\, MPH\n\n\n\nDirector\, East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health and ResearchMichael Meit\, M.A.\, M.P.H.\, Director of the East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health and Research\, is a senior researcher with 25 years of project management and leadership experience. Housed within the ETSU College of Public Health\, the Center for Rural Health and Research works with partners from across sectors and disciplines to improve health and well-being in East Tennessee\, Central Appalachia\, and nationally. \n\n\n\nCenter initiatives focus on the root causes of health disparities\, with an emphasis on intergenerational poverty\, public health interventions\, and geographic inequities\, among others. Meit is responsible for oversight and management of center activities\, including staffing\, strategic direction\, and direct project management. Meit also maintains a role with NORC as a Senior Fellow\, leading select NORC research initiatives and creating synergies between ETSU and NORC activities
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/rural-health-2026-part-2/
CATEGORIES:Rural Health 2026,Webinar,Workshops | Summits
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://healthjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Rural-Health-2-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260909T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260909T140000
DTSTAMP:20260902T221720Z
CREATED:20260902T221717Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T221720Z
UID:65487-1788958800-1788962400@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:The new Medicaid work requirement and how states are planning to implement it
DESCRIPTION:The biggest cuts in Medicaid’s history start going into effect on January 1. Enacted as part of the GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Law\,” the legislation will cut approximately $1 trillion over the coming decade from Medicaid\, a joint federal-state health program for people with low incomes. It also requires certain people who became eligible for Medicaid under the ACA expansion to prove that they are meeting new federal work requirements. And it constrains how states finance their portion of Medicaid.  These changes will ripple through the entire health system but will hit the already vulnerable rural health providers (and the populations they serve) particularly hard. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator: Joanne Kenen\, journalist-in-residence\, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nJoanne Kenen\n\n\n\nJournalist-in-residence\, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health \n\n\n\nJoanne Kenen is an experienced public health and health care journalist who has been the journalist in residence at the Bloomberg School of Public Health since late 2021. She also co-teaches a course about how the changing economic and political media landscape in the United States affects public health. During the decade before she came to the Johns Hopkins University\, Kenen was at Politico where she oversaw the prize-winning health reporting team—from the implementation of the ACA through the coronavirus pandemic.  \n\n\n\nHer work has appeared in numerous national publications: Politico and Politico Magazine\, KFF Health News\, the Washington Post\, Stat\, the Atlantic\, Health Affairs and many other outlets. Kenen has guest lectured at numerous universities and done training for health journalists both through the Association of Health Care Journalist and the USC Center for Health Journalism. She is a regular on KFF’s “What the Health” podcast.  Honors & Awards \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAkeiisa Coleman\, assistant vice president\, Medicaid\, The Commonwealth Fund\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAkeiisa Coleman\n\n\n\nAssistant Vice President\, Medicaid\, Expanding Coverage and Access\, The Commonwealth Fund \n\n\n\nAkeiisa Coleman\, M.S.W.\, is assistant vice president for Medicaid\, Expanding Coverage and Access at the Commonwealth Fund. She is responsible for the Medicaid and state-facing grants. She was promoted from program officer in July 2021. She advises on strategy around federal and state policy\, contributing to Fund research and publications and helping to execute projects and events to inform and educate policymakers at the state and federal level.  \n\n\n\nPrior to joining the Commonwealth Fund in August 2018\, Coleman was a senior policy analyst with the National Governors Association (2015-2018)\, where she managed multiple projects related to social determinants of health\, Medicaid\, and behavioral health. She provided technical assistance to state leaders\, including governors’ health policy advisors\, Medicaid directors\, secretaries of health\, and other senior state officials on key policy issues and best practices.  \n\n\n\nFrom 2008–2015\, she was a health policy associate with the Missouri Foundation for Health\, where she wrote and edited reports on the Affordable Care Act\, Medicaid\, Medicare\, and health disparities and assisted in the development of grant programs and requests for proposals. While working full-time as a health policy associate\, she was also a clinical social worker at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis from 2009–2015.  \n\n\n\nPrior to those positions\, she was a project coordinator at the Center for Mental Health Services Research in St. Louis\, a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs\, and an AmeriCorps member. Coleman earned an M.S.W. from Washington University in St. Louis and a B.A. in sociology from the University of Southern California. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStuart Portman\, Medicaid director\, State of Georgia\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStuart Portman\n\n\n\nMedicaid Director\, State of Georgia \n\n\n\nStuart Portman serves as Executive Director for the Division of Medical Assistance Plans in the Georgia Department of Community Health\, where he oversees Medicaid and CHIP operations statewide. \n\n\n\nPrior to this role\, he served as Senior Health Policy Advisor on the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance and in legislative roles for Senators Orrin Hatch\, Chuck Grassley\, and Mike Crapo\, focusing on Medicaid\, the Children’s Health Insurance Program\, and a broad range of health policy issues including health information technology and Food & Drug Administration policy. \n\n\n\nStuart holds a Master of Public Health degree in health policy from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and Political Science from the University of Denver. He is a proud native of St. Louis\, Missouri. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMeghan Groen\, Chief deputy director for Health Services\, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMeghan Groen\n\n\n\nChief deputy director for Health Services\, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services \n\n\n\nMeghan Groen oversees Michigan Medicaid in her role as chief deputy director for Health Services for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. She also oversees long term care and programs for people with developmental disabilities. Earlier\, she was a health policy adviser to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer\, and helped oversee creation of the Healthy Moms Healthy Babies initiative to address health disparities.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/rural-health-2026-medicaid-work-requirement/
CATEGORIES:Event,Rural Health 2026,Workshops | Summits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T140000
DTSTAMP:20260917T170924Z
CREATED:20260814T203859Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T170924Z
UID:65172-1789650000-1789653600@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Lunch and Learn: Finding a freelance gem
DESCRIPTION:In the midst of the journalism free-fall—publications closing\, editors getting laid off\, editorial budgets tightening—there are still some well-paying outlets. We’ll brainstorm about the best markets and share advice about how to pitch them.  \n\n\n\nAlso: How do you nurture your relationships with editors to turn an assignment or two into a regular gig? \n\n\n\nAHCJ hosts virtual Lunch and Learn sessions for our freelance members on the third Thursday of every month at 1 p.m. ET. Registration is required.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/lunch-and-learn-finding-a-freelance-gem/
CATEGORIES:Freelancers,Lunch and Learn
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://healthjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Lunch-and-Learn-Logo.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260923T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260923T140000
DTSTAMP:20260915T143738Z
CREATED:20260902T223055Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T143738Z
UID:65489-1790168400-1790172000@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:The impact of data centers on the environment and health in rural areas
DESCRIPTION:Rural Health Webinar Series\n\n\n\nThis webinar is Part 4 of our 2026 Rural Health Webinar Series. Attend at least four of our five sessions\, complete a brief knowledge check and earn an AHCJ Certification in Covering Rural Health for your resume. Learn more » \n\n\n\n\n\nAs AI fuels data center construction across the country\, many headlines have already focused on the pervasive environmental impacts\, including air pollution\, water use\, noise\, energy demand and environmental justice intersections. The policy\, research and national discourse on this topic are moving quickly. How can journalists cut through the common frames to find fresh angles and untold stories? This webinar brings together panelists broaching this question from different angles\, including public health research\, community advocacy and investigative journalism.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator: Katie Burke\, senior contributing editor\, American Scientist\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nKatie Burke\n\n\n\nSenior contributing editor\, American Scientist \n\n\n\nKatie L. Burke is an award-winning editor and serves as senior contributing editor at American Scientist. Burke has a doctorate in biology and a rich background in conservation\, forest history\, and disease ecology\, bringing a profound understanding of scientific nuances to her work. \n\n\n\nShe was previously AHCJ’s Health Beat Leader for Environmental Health. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNeha Gour\, Ph.D. candidate in science communication\, George Mason University\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNeha Gour\n\n\n\nPh.D. candidate in science communication\, George Mason UniversityAffiliated researcher\, Center for Climate Change Communication \n\n\n\nNeha Gour is a Ph.D. candidate in Science Communication at George Mason University and an affiliated researcher with the Center for Climate Change Communication. Her work examines the intersections of AI infrastructure\, climate change\, public health and public policy. Using quantitative methods\, she generates and evaluates empirical evidence to inform policy\, public communication and decision-making. Neha’s research has included collaborations with organizations such as The Nature Conservancy\, the Government of the City of Fairfax\, the World Health Organization\, UNESCO\, and Oxford Policy Management\, among others. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMichael Cork\, Ph.D.\, founder and CEO\, EmPower Analytics Group\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMichael Cork\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nFounder and CEO\, EmPower Analytics Group \n\n\n\nDr. Michael Cork is an environmental health scientist and Founder & CEO of EmPower Analytics Group\, an independent scientific firm that quantifies the public health and economic impacts of energy infrastructure. His work combines atmospheric modeling\, epidemiology\, and health economics to evaluate how power generation associated with AI infrastructure\, data centers\, and other large industrial facilities affects surrounding communities.  \n\n\n\nHis analyses have informed permitting decisions\, supported environmental law organizations\, local governments\, and community organizations\, and have been featured by national media including The New York Times and Politico. Dr. Cork earned his PhD in Biostatistics from Harvard University\, where his research focused on the health effects of air pollution and statistical methods used to inform national air quality standards. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvan Simon\, investigative producer\, Floodlight News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvan Simon\n\n\n\nInvestigative producer\, Floodlight News \n\n\n\nEvan Simon is an Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker known for groundbreaking environmental investigations into plastic recycling claims\, abandoned oil wells\, and the controversial power sources fueling the AI data center boom. Simon previously worked for the ABC News Investigative Unit and The Wall Street Journal. He is currently leading video and visual investigations at Floodlight\, a nonprofit collaborative newsroom dedicated to climate investigations\, where his multimedia reporting has been co-published by PBS\, The Guardian\, WIRED Magazine\, High Country News\, and Mother Jones\, among others. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nReed Omary\, M.D.\, Physician\, writer and strategist\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr. Reed Omary\n\n\n\nProfessor\, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering\, Vanderbilt University Medical CenterFounder\, The Greenwell Project \n\n\n\nReed A. Omary\, MD\, MS\, is a physician\, writer\, speaker\, and nonprofit founder based in Nashville. He is Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and founder of Greenwell Project. A strong communicator of the future\, Dr. Omary speaks to healthcare and lay audiences across the world on planetary health\, sustainable healthcare\, and the health impacts of AI infrastructure.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/rural-health-2026-part-4-data-centers/
CATEGORIES:Environmental Health,Rural Health 2026,Workshops | Summits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260930T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260930T140000
DTSTAMP:20260915T181045Z
CREATED:20260902T223656Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T181045Z
UID:65495-1790773200-1790776800@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:'The Case for Rural America': A conversation with researcher and author J. Tom Mueller
DESCRIPTION:Rural Health Webinar Series\n\n\n\nThis webinar is Part 5 of our 2026 Rural Health Webinar Series. Attend at least four of our five sessions\, complete a brief knowledge check and earn an AHCJ Certification in Covering Rural Health for your resume. Learn more » \n\n\n\n\n\nIn his recent book\, “The Case for Rural America\,” rural sociologist and demographer J. Tom Mueller\, Ph.D.\, makes a case for why rural America is worth saving and what policymakers must do to preserve a way of life that many people prefer. One of the main solutions he proposes is directly related to healthcare in America. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator: Jared Ewy\, Radio host\, The Daily Yonder\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJared Ewy\n\n\n\nRadio host\, The Daily Yonder \n\n\n\nAfter an attempt to play college football disabused him of the notion that he was a battering ram\, Jared Ewy made the leap into radio. From the Four Corners\, he worked his way to Denver before taking on an opportunity to work with Bob Newhart and\, in turn\, launch a comedy career. Incredibly poor\, he would join a tech startup and help build it into a company on the Nasdaq. From there\, Ewy has focused on helping nonprofits like Ability Connection Colorado share the work they do\, as well as syndicate Yonder Radio\, a show that amplifies rural stories and is syndicated across the country. Ewy continues to tell stories on stage. He’s won Denver’s Moth Story Slam seven times and is currently the back-to-back Moth Grand Slam Champion. He lives in Colorado with his wife\, three kids and too many pets. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJ. Tom Mueller\, Ph.D.\, Director\, Kansas Center for Rural Health\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJ. Tom Mueller\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nDirector\, Kansas Center for Rural HealthAssistant professor\, University of Kansas Medical Center Department of Population Health \n\n\n\nJ. Tom Mueller\, Ph.D.\, is an Assistant Professor of Population Health and Director of the Kansas Center for Rural Health at the University of Kansas Medical Center. As a rural sociologist and demographer\, he studies the geography of well-being and the environment in rural America. Dr. Mueller’s work focuses on three primary areas: health and well-being in rural America\, (2) environmental injustice and environmental health\, and (3) the measurement and tracking of poverty across space.Dr. Mueller has published his work in leading outlets such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; American Journal of Public Health; Nature Water; Nature Communications; Demography; and Rural Sociology\, among others. Dr. Mueller pursues and receives funding from a variety of sources including the National Institutes of Health\, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture\, and the National Science Foundation. \n\n\n\nDr. Mueller is the author of “The Case for Rural America“.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/rural-health-2026-part-5-case-for-rural-america/
CATEGORIES:Event,Rural Health 2026,Webinar,Workshops | Summits
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261006T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261006T130000
DTSTAMP:20260918T222154Z
CREATED:20260918T220307Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260918T222154Z
UID:65769-1791288000-1791291600@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Fact and fiction on measles and respiratory virus vaccines
DESCRIPTION:Respiratory virus season is approaching\, on top of ever-expanding measles outbreaks and continuing vaccine misinformation\, including from the highest levels of government. It’s a lot for health journalists to cover\, and audiences have many questions. This webinar\, with infectious disease experts Jesse Goodman (Georgetown University and the Expert Vaccine Analysis Team – EVAT)\, Fiona Havers (Emory University)\, Paul Offit (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and EVAT)\, and immunologist Elisabeth Marnik (The Evidence Collective)\, will provide answers on whether COVID vaccines will be recommended and available to everyone and at what cost; what we know about the new mRNA flu vaccine and its safety; and the best course for expectant parents\, among other topics.  \n\n\n\nWe’ll also share the facts about the ongoing measles outbreak and related deaths in Pennsylvania\, whether the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is likely to split into three different shots\, and generally address misinformation\, rumors\, and misconceptions about vaccines and infectious diseases. Join us to get the answers to these questions and\, perhaps most importantly\, learn how to address false information and present the facts in engaging\, matter-of-fact\, accessible ways. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nTara Haelle\n\n\n\nAHCJ’s Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases and Medical StudiesTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist\, author\, speaker\, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic\, Scientific American\, Texas Monthly\, Science News\, Medscape/WebMD\, The New York Times\, Wired\, and O Magazine\, among others. She specializes in public health and medical research\, particularly vaccines\, infectious disease\, maternal and pediatric health\, mental health\, healthcare disparities\, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin\, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly\, NPR\, the\, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJesse Goodman\, M.D.\, MPH\n\n\n\nProfessor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases and Attending Physician at Georgetown UniversityJesse L. Goodman\, MD\, MPH is Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases and Attending Physician at Georgetown University. He was previously Chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota where his laboratory isolated the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis.  \n\n\n\nFrom 2003-9 he served as Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER)\, regulating vaccines\, blood and cell and gene therapies\, and then as Chief Scientist of the US FDA until 2014\, serving in US leadership for numerous public health responses. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has served on numerous WHO\, CDC\, NIH\, NAM and other advisory committees and previously served as a member of GSK’s board\, chairing its science committee. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFiona Havers\, M.D.\n\n\n\nInfectious Diseases Physician\, Emory University School of Medicine; Attending Physician\, Grady Memorial HospitalFiona Havers\, MD\, MHS\, FIDSA\, is an infectious diseases physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Emory University School of Medicine. She is a former medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Havers is a senior subject matter expert on vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases and vaccine policy. She was the CDC lead of the Respiratory Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network (RESP-NET) Team in the Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division within the U.S. CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Dr. Havers oversaw the COVID-19 and RSV platforms within RESP-NET\, a population-based surveillance platform that covers ~9% of the US population and collects data on COVID-19\, RSV\, and influenza-associated hospitalizations. Dr. Havers left CDC in June 2025. \n\n\n\nThe author of >100 publications while at CDC\, Dr. Havers’ research interests have focused on the epidemiology\, prevention\, treatment and vaccine policy for vaccine-preventable respiratory pathogens\, including influenza\, pertussis\, RSV and SARS-CoV-2. She was previously the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Work Group lead for the Pertussis Vaccines Work Group and has worked extensively on COVID-19 and adult RSV vaccine policy\, including as senior author on the initial adult RSV vaccine ACIP policy recommendations published in 2023. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPaul A. Offit\, M.D.\n\n\n\nDirector\, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education CenterPaul A. Offit\, M.D.\, is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Offit is currently a voting member on the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee and has previously served on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices to the CDC. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine\, RotaTeq\, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC in 2006 and by the WHO in 2013. This vaccine was estimated recently to save about 165\,000 lives a year. He is also the author of 11 books written for the public about science\, medicine\, and vaccines. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nElisabeth Marnik\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nExecutive Director\, The Evidence CollectiveDr. Elisabeth Adkins Marnik is a science communicator and immunologist working at the intersection of public trust\, science\, and public health. She earned her PhD in genetics and immunology from Tufts University. \n\n\n\nRaised in a family that distrusted science and vaccines\, Liz brings a personal understanding of hesitancy to her work. During the COVID-19 pandemic\, she launched Science Whiz Liz to help the public navigate emerging health information\, combining lived experience with scientific expertise. Liz now leads national efforts to translate evidence into clear\, responsible\, and empathetic public communication. She is an inaugural member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Building Trust in Health Science Through Community Partnership and Lived Experience and was named to Mainebiz’s 2025 40 Under 40 for her leadership in science education and public engagement.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/fact-and-fiction-on-measles-and-respiratory-virus-vaccines/
CATEGORIES:Event,Infectious Diseases,Public Health,Webinar
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261008T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261009T161500
DTSTAMP:20260826T145729Z
CREATED:20260706T194630Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260826T145729Z
UID:64252-1791446400-1791562500@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:AI in Health Care: Reporting What's Real | Fall Summit 2026
DESCRIPTION:AI in health care is moving fast — and journalists need both a strong grounding in the forces driving that change and a chance to see the technology in action. Over two days\, AHCJ’s 2026 fall summit\, AI in Health Care: Reporting What’s Real\, will bring together journalists\, researchers\, clinicians and other experts to examine what AI means for patients\, providers and the health care system.  \n\n\n\nTwo days\, two facets: Build the knowledge to report on AI with depth and confidence\, then get exclusive access at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles for a hands-on look at how AI is being put into practice at a major hospital system. \n\n\n\nJoin us Oct. 8-9 in Los Angeles for a two-day exploration of some of the most important topics related to the use of artificial intelligence in health care. We’ll discuss: \n\n\n\n\nAI 101: Gaining clarity when development is at blur speed.\n\n\n\nHello\, doc; meet my chatbot.\n\n\n\nAI\, diagnostics and prevention: Case studies.\n\n\n\nYou make the call: An AI decision-making exercise.\n\n\n\nAI in the health care Gold Rush: Promises\, pitfalls\, and who pays the price.\n\n\n\nWhere there’s smoke: AI in wildfire detection and other disasters.\n\n\n\nThe patient and the pill: How AI could change drug development.\n\n\n\nYou made the call. Now\, what shaped your decision?\n\n\n\nAI and the Health Care Workforce.\n\n\n\nAI\, the business of health care and the digital divide.\n\n\n\n\nAfter sessions end on Friday\, we’ll take a hands-on field trip to Cedars-Sinai\, where you’ll get a closer look at how AI tools are changing the delivery of health care in a hospital setting\, including in diagnostics and surgery. \n\n\n\nThis summit is possible with support from Cedars-Sinai and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. \n\n\n\nRegister here\n\nBook a discounted hotel room\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSchedule At-a-Glance\n\n\n\nSubject to change. More details will be added soon. \n\n\n\n\nThursday\, Oct. 8\n\n\n\nBreakfast: 7 – 8 a.m.\n\n\n\nSessions: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (including lunch)\n\n\n\nReception: 5 – 7 p.m.\n\n\n\nFriday\, Oct. 9\n\n\n\nBreakfast: 7 – 8 a.m.\n\n\n\nSessions: 8 – 10 a.m.\n\n\n\nField trip: 10 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. (including lunch plus travel to and from the hotel).
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/training-events/workshops-summits/2026-fall-summit-ai-in-health-care-reporting-whats-real/
CATEGORIES:Event,Workshops | Summits
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261015T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261015T140000
DTSTAMP:20260917T171443Z
CREATED:20260819T113059Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T171443Z
UID:65211-1792069200-1792072800@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Lunch and Learn: How to promote your work
DESCRIPTION:You’ve been working hard on a special project\, and the story is coming out. How can you extend its reach—and make sure it gets some attention? We’ll talk about podcasts\, blogs\, social media\, and other platforms that you can use to find an audience. \n\n\n\nAHCJ hosts virtual Lunch and Learn sessions for our freelance members on the third Thursday of every month at 1 p.m. ET. Registration is required.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/lunch-and-learn-promotion/
CATEGORIES:Freelancers,Lunch and Learn
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