Danna Lorch, Freelance Journalist Profile

Articles

Coding for a Cure

1 month ago | endicott.edu | Danna Lorch

Growing up Arab-Israeli outside of Tel Aviv, Israel, Ahmad Bishara ’25 became naturally adept at languages to communicate with people of different backgrounds. By the time he graduated high school, Bishara was fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, and English and had also learned to code in C#, Java, JavaScript, and HTML.
Bridging philosophy and AI to explore computing ethics

2 months ago | news.mit.edu | Danna Lorch

During a meeting of class 6.C40/24.C40 (Ethics of Computing), Professor Armando Solar-Lezama poses the same impossible question to his students that he often asks himself in the research he leads with the Computer Assisted Programming Group at MIT:"How do we make sure that a machine does what we want, and only what we want?"At this moment, what some consider the golden age of generative AI, this may seem like an urgent new question.
Lessons From the System in a Classroom Near You

2 months ago | endicott.edu | Danna Lorch

An email that took less than five minutes to send unexpectedly changed Ashley Appleby’s life. Although she’s now Endicott’s newest Assistant Professor of the Criminal Justice Program, Appleby was once a Quinnipiac University freshman unsure if college was even for her. “I wasn’t going to stay in college. I had below a 3.0 GPA in my first semester,” Appleby, now a proud first-generation graduate, admitted.
Is this the new playbook for curing rare childhood diseases?

Jan 24, 2025 | news.mit.edu | Danna Lorch

“There is no treatment available for your son. We can’t do anything to help him.”When Fernando Goldsztein MBA ’03 heard those words, something inside him snapped. “I refused to accept what the doctors were saying. I transformed my fear into my greatest strength and started fighting.”Goldsztein’s 12-year-old son Frederico was diagnosed with relapsing medulloblastoma, a life-threatening pediatric brain tumor. Goldsztein's life — and career plan — changed in an instant.
In a unique research collaboration, students make the case for less e-waste

Dec 13, 2024 | news.mit.edu | Danna Lorch |MIT Schwarzman College

Brought together as part of the Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) initiative within the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, a community of students known as SERC Scholars is collaborating to examine the most urgent problems humans face in the digital landscape. Each semester, students from all levels from across MIT are invited to join a different topical working group led by a SERC postdoctoral associate.
Winner Takes All

Nov 20, 2024 | endicott.edu | Danna Lorch

By: Danna Lorch“Does everyone know that there’s nothing in the Constitution that gives you any say in the presidential election?” asked New York Times Editorial Board member Jesse Wegman. A classroom filled with Endicott students and community members tuning in online nodded.
Just How Influential Are Foreign Governments’ Social Influence Campaigns?

Sep 16, 2024 | spia.princeton.edu | Danna Lorch

Sep 17 2024 By Danna Lorch Source Princeton School of Public and International Affairs Princeton SPIA’s Jacob Shapiro and a transatlantic research team receive a three-year grant to dig deeper These days, it’s all too common to see a front-page story about a foreign government’s influence operation — secret attempts to sway the opinions of another country’s citizens through social media campaigns, paid advertising, hacking, direct emails, or SMS text messaging.
Biden Plan to Save Medicare Patients Money on Drugs Risks Empty Shelves, Pharmacists Say

Jun 18, 2024 | wealthinsidermag.com | Danna Lorch

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on KFF Health News. Months into a new Biden administration policy intended to lower drug costs for Medicare patients, independent pharmacists say they’re struggling to afford to keep some prescription drugs in stock. “It would not matter if the governor himself walked in and said, ‘I need to get this prescription filled,’” said Clint Hopkins, a pharmacist and co-owner of Pucci’s Pharmacy in Sacramento, California.
The Problem with Ballet

May 22, 2024 | paw.princeton.edu | Danna Lorch

As a rising senior in high school, Kahina Haynes ’11 scored admission to a summer intensive with a prestigious dance company, an on-ramp program for aspiring ballerinas to leap into professional careers. Just as top high school athletes are scouted and recruited, summer intensives are opportunities to be discovered. She remembers, “I was the only Black dancer.” The company’s artistic director came to sit in on a rehearsal.
Discovering community and cultural connections

May 9, 2024 | news.mit.edu | Danna Lorch

Senior Grace McMillan grew up in western New York state in an all-woman intergenerational home. In the 1980s, her grandmother and mother defected from the USSR and came to the United States as refugees. They were the only Ukrainian family in their semi-rural town. “My mom would tell me stories about how tough things were when she was growing up,” McMillan says.