Deborah J. Balthazar

Tough news: I’m impacted by layoffs at @STATNews. It’s an incredibly difficult time for journalism, but health reporting is so crucial & I encourage you to support STAT & other outlets when you can. On to the next thing — find me at ravindranath.mohana@gmail.com with ideas!

You probably know how much I like explaining things. Read this Q&A on the @AHCJ blog on how I wrote my Placenta-on-a-chip story while a Begley fellow @statnews !! healthjournalism.org/blog/2024/09/p…

@deborahblum I miss you and everyone @KSJatMIT!! 🥹

We will miss you here in Cambridge!

Our 2025 class of fellows is MIT News official! 🗞️🦫 news.mit.edu/2024/knight-sc…

My final story as a Begley Fellow at @statnews: I profile the Thoracic Organ Ex Vivo Perfusion Lab at MGH. Come for the "heart in a box" and stay for the potential of no longer needing an organ transplant waitlist. statnews.com/2024/07/22/mas…

Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, and Gretchen Whitmer have been named as potential replacements for Joe Biden. Here's where they stand on health care. trib.al/ZRtoqRJ

. @hankgreen shares with @brittanytrang one of the many changes he wants to see in the U.S. #healthcare system.

It's the best time of year: When I tweet "it's the best time of year" and link STAT's summer book/podcast recommendations! They come from top health officials all the way down to reporters. Bookmark, share, enjoy: statnews.com/2024/06/25/sum…

Got to talk to @hankgreen about • ...his balls? • coming to terms with being a public person w cancer • the ulcerative colitis medicine that may have given him lymphoma • and the jokes that got cut from his @dropoutpresents comedy special @statnews statnews.com/2024/06/22/han…

@broderick_timmy Does it fluctuate? I definitely used lmao when I was in high school, but now exclusively stick to lol. 🤔 I'll see when I get to my 30s 🤓

biggest diff between 30 and 31? trading lol for lmao

Excellent story by @AliaSajani! About finding ways to rebuild the medical research community’s tattered relationship with Black Americans in Baltimore. statnews.com/2024/06/19/fir…

Woof: Four Tops singer’s lawsuit says he visited ER for chest pain, ended up in a straightjacket. Now he's alleging racial discrimination and false imprisonment. statnews.com/2024/06/11/ale…

It's getting HOT (prayers for my hometown homies who endured Miami's hottest May ever!!) What happens in our hearts when it's scorching outside? @cooney_liz with the explainer❤️‍🔥: statnews.com/2024/06/10/hea…

It is virtually impossible to study the function of a placenta during pregnancy. But placenta-on-a-chip is set to be a "game-changer" for pregnancy studies in the future. My latest for @statnews statnews.com/2024/06/13/pla…

Can't really study placenta during pregnancy? A scientist made her own, on a chip: statnews.com/2024/06/13/pla… Brilliant by @djbulbaczar

BREAKING: Supreme Court unanimously rejects challenge to mailed abortion pills statnews.com/2024/06/13/sup… via @statnews @owermohle

Fascinating tale that started when early in her pregnancy, an engineering professor wanted to know how much caffeine was safe for her to consume. @djbulbaczar reports that it led to placenta-on-a-chip. statnews.com/2024/06/13/pla… via @statnews

I'm also moderating a session on #MedicareAdvantage that I'm really excited about, featuring @tricia_neuman, @CherClarHealth, and @amal_trivedi. Come for getting really riled up about health policy, stay for a v cute photo of Cheryl's cat Cannolis that u CAN.NOT. miss #HJ24

Gene therapy could eventually "cure" some kinds of congenital deafness. Some see that as a possible boon in a world designed for hearing people. Others see it as an attempt "to erase the deaf world". A deep piece from @broderick_timmy statnews.com/2024/05/28/gen…

I wrote about Black women with sickle cell disease being pressured into unwanted sterilizations, as recently as 2017 and 2022. How is that possible, when the law requires informed consent? A 🧵... statnews.com/2024/05/21/sic…