Rob Stein Rob Stein is a Correspondent and Senior Editor on NPR's Science Desk.
Rob Stein, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC.
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Rob Stein

Mike Morgan/NPR
Rob Stein, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC.
Mike Morgan/NPR

Rob Stein

Correspondent and Senior Editor, Science Desk

Rob Stein is a correspondent and senior editor on NPR's science desk.

An award-winning science journalist with more than 30 years of experience, Stein mostly covers health and medicine. He tends to focus on stories that illustrate the intersection of science, health, politics, social trends, ethics, and federal science policy. He tracks genetics, stem cells, cancer research, women's health issues, and other science, medical, and health policy news.

Before NPR, Stein worked at The Washington Post for 16 years, first as the newspaper's science editor and then as a national health reporter. Earlier in his career, Stein spent about four years as an editor at NPR's science desk. Before that, he was a science reporter for United Press International (UPI) in Boston and the science editor of the international wire service in Washington.

Stein's work has been honored by many organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Association of Health Care Journalists. He was twice part of NPR teams that won Peabody Awards.

Stein frequently represents NPR, speaking at universities, international meetings and other venues, including the University of Cambridge in Britain, the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea, and the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

Stein is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He completed a journalism fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health, a program in science and religion at the University of Cambridge, and a summer science writer's workshop at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.

Story Archive

Around the world, what does it mean to be fully vaccinated?

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Victoria Gray, who has sickle cell disease, volunteered for one of the most anticipated medical experiments in decades: the first attempt to use the gene-editing technique CRISPR to treat a genetic disorder in the United States. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption

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First sickle cell patient treated with CRISPR gene-editing still thriving

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Employees of Nomi Health check in a long line of people seeking COVID-19 tests Tuesday in North Miami, Fla. The omicron variant has unleashed a fresh round of fear and uncertainty for travelers, shoppers and partygoers across the U.S. Marta Lavandier/AP hide caption

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Omicron will cause more infections but lower hospital rates, analysis shows

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Public health experts will be listening as Biden speaks to the nation about omicron

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People line up outside a free COVID-19 vaccination site on Dec. 3 in Washington, D.C. Many areas are stepping up vaccination and booster shots as more cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus are detected in the United States. Samuel Corum/Getty Images hide caption

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Omicron could bring the worst surge of COVID yet in the U.S. — and fast

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How much could the omicron variant disrupt American life this winter?

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Maryland National Guard Spc. James Truong administers a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on May 21 in Wheaton, Maryland. People vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine likely need a booster to keep up their protection against the new omicron variant of the coronavirus. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Omicron evades Moderna vaccine too, study suggests, but boosters help

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Pandemic landmark: 800,000 Americans have died of COVID-19

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Here's what President Biden's winter COVID plan involves

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1st case of the omicron variant in the U.S. has been reported in California

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A registered nurse stirs a nasal swab in testing solution after administering a COVID-19 test in Los Angeles, Calif. Increased testing could help in efforts to detect and track new variants like omicron. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Experts say more testing is urgently needed to spot and track the variant in the U.S.

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The FDA is likely to sign off on Pfizer's COVID booster for all vaccinated adults

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New clues to the biology of long COVID are starting to emerge

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Hattie Pierce, 75, receives a Pfizer covid-19 vaccine booster shot from Dr. Tiffany Taliaferro at the Safeway on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Monday, October 4, 2021. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag hide caption

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