I love helping texts heal. With a Ph.D in public health genetics and an MFA in creative writing, I know a lot of ways to bring out the best in your work. And now I’ve been writing, editing, and conducting research for more than a decade, so I’d say your texts are in good hands with me. I’ve worked in Federal, non-profit, business, and freelance settings, and have experience in digital content production, science writing and editing, health coaching, teaching writing, photography, and even the history of medicine, so you name it, I’m probably game for it.
- Some topics I work with frequently: public health, bioethics, genomics, synthetic biology, medicine, health care systems, and (of all things) environmental security. But I love pretty much all things science–maybe you have a new project for me?
“You have that particularly rare combination of intellectual, interpersonal, and emotional intelligence that empower highly successful people and I know the world has more great things in store for you. “
A former boss
CV Snippets & project examples
- Helped oversee Federal science and technology research activities for an extensive portfolio in human health, wellness, and biotechnology; organized workshops convening 80-200 participants from Federal and academic agencies; wrote high-level briefings, memos, white papers, reports, and communication strategies for senior leadership.
- Wrote my Ph.D. dissertation, “Thesis: Trust and Consequences: Biorepositories, Health Learning Systems, and Beyond,” on building trust in patient-provider relationships, particularly when biobanks and research are part of the care system. Designed a public communications strategy for a biobank’s specimen donation system and conducted research to develop an associated patient consent process.
- Helped conduct qualitative and mixed methods research on patient preferences and medical ethics that contributed to policy development; contributed to archival research on the 1918-19 influenza epidemic; produced weekly news briefing for a global professional and academic audience on H1N1 pandemic influenza, H1N5 avian influenza, and emerging global infections throughout ASEAN and APEC countries.
“Your document captured the event so precisely, it was like you were actually there in the room with us, even though I know you weren’t.”
A former client
A few highlights
- I was a former American Association for the Advancement of Science Science & Technology Policy Fellow (and later published book reviews in Science.)
- I was also a Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, too.
- And a Climate Security Fellow at the Center for Climate and Security.
- A draft of a novel won the Hopwood Award when I was an MFA student at the University of Michigan, and poems, essays, and short stories I’ve written since have been published in many literary journals–more than 25 so far, including Harvard Review, The Columbia Review, and Conjunctions.
“Feel free to put me down as a reference, for this or, quite frankly, anything else. You were awesome to work with.”
A former colleague
Some fun facts
- I’m trying to find an agent for a novel about the young women who survived Seattle’s Green River Killer in the 1980s.
- Rock-climbing, reading, and fine scotch are a few of my favorite things.
- I’m learning perfumery and Serbian.
Dr. Cyan James 