Joanne Silberner
Joanne Silberner is a health policy correspondent for National Public Radio. She covers medicine, health reform, and changes in the health care marketplace.
Silberner has been with NPR since 1992. Prior to that she spent five years covering consumer health and medical research at U.S. News & World Report. In addition she has worked at Science News magazine, Science Digest, and has freelanced for various publications. She has been published in The Washington Post, Health, USA Today, American Health, Practical Horseman, Encyclopedia Britannica, and others.
She was a fellow for a year at the Harvard School of Public Health, and from 1997-1998, she had a Kaiser Family Foundation media fellowship. During that fellowship she chronicled the closing of a state mental hospital. Silberner also had a fellowship to study the survivors of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Silberner has won awards for her work from the Society of Professional Journalists, the New York State Mental Health Association, the March of Dimes, Easter Seals, the American Heart Association, and others. Her work has also earned her a Unity Award and a Clarion Award.
A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Silberner holds her B.A. in biology. She has a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
She currently resides in Washington, D.C.
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A large research study released Sunday at the American Heart Association meeting in New Orleans is rocking the cardiology world. It suggests that even people with normal or low cholesterol levels can benefit from a cholesterol-lowering drug known as a statin.
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The FBI released documents Wednesday, including e-mails written by Bruce Ivins, the Army scientist who killed himself after learning he was the prime suspect in the anthrax attacks investigation. The e-mails reflect what many call evidence of Ivins' declining grip on reality.
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The presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, releases his health records Friday. McCain has dealt with melanoma in the past and has some orthopedic problems from his years as a prisoner of war. He hasn't released his health records since 1999.
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Chocolate is a wonderful thing, but how can it help combat global climate change? Cacao trees — the source of chocolate — grow well in rainforests, and rainforests store carbon. So researchers are working to help preserve the forest and to grow more chocolate. -
Even with the latest buzz surrounding product recalls, it can be difficult to stay updated on what has been cleared off the shelves. One Baltimore art student missed a contact-solution recall announcement — and found out about it the hard way.
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Andrew Speaker, who traveled back and forth to Europe while carrying an extensively drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, says his doctors told him his infection posed no risk to others. Speaker's TB is considered an active case, but he has no symptoms.
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Some experts argue that antidepressants may cause suicidal thoughts in young patients. But a new analysis of data contends that these medications are a help for most depressed children and adolescents. -
Wal-Mart announces a pilot program to sell generic prescription drugs at a price of just $4 for each prescription. If it succeeds, the plan could bring changes to consumers and the prescription-drug industry alike.
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A new survey shows a significant decline in the incomes of primary care doctors between 1995 and 2003. During that same period, the U.S. was trying to get more medical students to go into primary care. The drop was largely the result of reduced payments by insurance companies. One Washington, D.C., family doctor is trying to reverse the trend.
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A night spent with Dr. Arthur Kellerman at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital reveals a lot about why patients spend hours waiting in emergency rooms. A combination of citywide shortages of hospital beds and uninsured patients can result in days-long backups.
