Rowan Walrath

Boston

Associate Editor at C&EN

Life sciences reporter @cenmag. Texan Bostonian. Vaxed & masked. she/her. [email protected]. Encrypted comms: Signal (DM for number) or [email protected]

Articles

Chemistry majors, set to graduate in May, stress over their futures

2 weeks ago | cen.acs.org | Laurel Oldach |Krystal Vasquez |Rowan Walrath

She was excited when the acceptance letter came in January, from a research university in a major East Coast city. "In my brain, I was like, 'Yeah, this is it,' " the student tells C&EN. But in February, when she put together all the offers she had, she began to feel nervous. The offer letter from the research university that was her first choice had promised a contract to follow, but it hadn't yet arrived.
As research funding dries up for US science, few alternatives appear

3 weeks ago | cen.acs.org | Rowan Walrath

At UMass Chan Medical School, gene therapy researchers Terence R. Flotte and Robert H. Brown are trying to figure out how to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the fatal neurodegenerative condition better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. They've made some progress: antisense oligonucleotides were able to slow down disease progression in at least one patient, and other studies from their labs have helped pin down some genetic causes of the disease, which is still poorly understood.
NIH restores some long COVID grants

3 weeks ago | cen.acs.org | Rowan Walrath

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) appears to be reversing course on its decision to abruptly cancel a spate of grants for long COVID research earlier this week. On Friday, the NIH Office of Extramural Research notified an office at New York University (NYU) that funding awarded through the NIH's long COVID research program-Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery, or RECOVER-for pathobiology studies was restored, according to emails shared with C&EN.
US Department of Health and Human Services to lay off 10,000 employees

4 weeks ago | cen.acs.org | Rowan Walrath |Laurel Oldach

The largest federal health agency in the US is slated to shrink significantly through workforce cuts and department consolidations. US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a video statement posted to X Thursday morning that his agency would reduce headcount from 82,000 employees to 62,000 and consolidate 28 divisions into 15.
NIH cancels grants through flagship long COVID initiative

4 weeks ago | cen.acs.org | Rowan Walrath

President Donald J. Trump's administration this week abruptly terminated funding for a slew of studies designed to learn how to better treat the postviral condition long COVID. They include studies funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiative called Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery, or RECOVER, a $1.7 billion program that serves as the single largest federal funding mechanism for long COVID research.
Lilly backs precision medicine start-up’s $65 million raise

1 month ago | pubs.acs.org | Rowan Walrath

Monday, March 24, 2025 Please be aware that pubs.acs.org is undergoing maintenance from Saturday February 1 to Monday Febraury 3, that may have an impact on your experience. During this time, you may not be able to access certain features like login, purchasing single articles, saving searches or running existing saved searches, modifying your e-Alert preferences, or accessing Librarian administrative functions. We appreciate your patience as we continue to improve the ACS Publications platform.
Chemistry majors, set to graduate in May, stress over their futures

1 month ago | cen.acs.org | Laurel Oldach |Krystal Vasquez |Rowan Walrath

She was excited when the acceptance letter came in January, from a research university in a major East Coast city. "In my brain, I was like, 'Yeah, this is it,' " the student tells C&EN. But in February, when she put together all the offers she had, she began to feel nervous. The offer letter from the research university that was her first choice had promised a contract to follow, but it hadn't yet arrived.
Federal agencies send 'spurious' emails, surveys to grantees

1 month ago | cen.acs.org | Rowan Walrath

As President Donald J. Trump's new administration clamps down on government spending, some scientists have received interrogatory emails from the federal agencies that fund their work. A questionnaire sent last week to recipients of grants from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asked whether their research projects would "contribute to limiting illegal immigration" or "defend against gender ideology," among other things.
CDC to study debunked vaccine-autism link

1 month ago | cen.acs.org | Rowan Walrath

Scientists and public health experts are sounding the alarm over plans by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fund a study on whether there's a causal link between vaccines and the development of autism.
Is there a market for new COVID-19 drugs?

1 month ago | cen.acs.org | Rowan Walrath

It wasn't that long ago that people considered Moderna and Pfizer to be saviors. Their work during the COVID-19 pandemic brought on an unusual outpouring of support and goodwill toward the pharmaceutical industry and toward other COVID-19 vaccine and treatment developers like Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson. The emergency phase of the pandemic was a good few years for the biotechnology industry financially speaking, too.