Joshua Mendell launched his research career with a junior high science fair project on DNA mutation rates in bacteria. A graduate student who worked with his father, Jerry Mendell, a neurologist at The Ohio State University, assisted him with his project and taught him the basics of molecular…
The winning teams will present at the upcoming Sackler Colloquium, The Science of Science Communication III: Inspiring Novel Collaborations and Building Capacity The National Academy of Sciences is offering awards to support the formation of new partnerships between science communication researchers and practitioners. The awards respond to…
In response to a rapidly changing media landscape and an epidemic of misinformation and disinformation, Media Impact Funders—a member-supported network of funders using media and technology in the public interest—is organizing a new working group of funders committed to fostering robust public engagement with science, evidence and facts. The group…
Andrew K. Golden, President of the Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO), has been elected to the Rita Allen Foundation Board of Directors. Golden, whose term begins immediately, has served as President of PRINCO, the organization responsible for managing the University’s endowment, since January 1995. PRINCO’s investment returns have consistently placed…
The American Press Institute’s Tom Rosenstiel on fact checking and journalism in a “post-truth” era…
Growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas, Elsa Flores was encouraged to follow her unflagging “curiosity about how things work.” Inspired by her father, an educator who studied biology and chemistry, Flores had always envisioned a career in science. But she felt uncertain about where to attend college—whether…
Several Rita Allen Scholars have forged new approaches to studying parasite neurobiology, neural plasticity, spinal cord cells and persistent pain with support from the Foundation. To celebrate their achievements, we share these summaries as their multiyear awards conclude. Elissa Hallem, University of California, Los Angeles…
Revolutionary changes in technology and human health have stemmed from the curiosity of scientists studying such organisms as corals, jellyfish and bacteria. The benefits of these discoveries have taken decades to come to fruition, as chronicled in a series of articles in “Luck,” the January issue of Nautilus magazine.
A network of journalists, nonprofits, researchers and foundations have been investigating routes to weakening the influence of fake and misleading stories masquerading as news online. Now, following an election in which misinformation was highly visible, their work is taking on a new urgency. A two-part series by Elia Powers in MediaShift…
As the calendar year closes, we’ve reached out to several leaders in journalism, academia, philanthropy and social entrepreneurship to listen more deeply to what’s on their minds as they foster civic engagement in the current environment. We’ve heard several themes resonate: The importance of listening broadly and responding effectively to…