Health Reporting

Heather has a master’s degree in science journalism from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Graduate Program in Science Writing.

She worked at The Frederick News-Post, where Heather led coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Heather also wrote about recently published journal articles, taking national and international studies and finding a local angle. She completed the Association of Health Care Journalist’s National Cancer Reporting Fellowship.

Heather also writes about neuroscience, aiming to make it more understandable and accessible to the public through her reporting. She also previously covered PCBs, PFAS and psychological effects of natural disasters.

She studied psychology while at American University, where she focused on abnormal psychology, specifically schizophrenia. During her time at AU, she helped with research on language and the autism spectrum scale, as well as conducted her own research on stigma against people with bipolar disorder as part of a class.

February 16, 2020 / Crime Reporting, Featured Clips, Health reporting, The Frederick News-Post

FACING RECOVERY Opioid overdoses in Frederick County down in 2019, but struggles continue

Meghan King has been sober for almost four months. The 32-year-old Baltimore native lives in a sober home in Frederick....
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June 3, 2019 / Crime Reporting, Health reporting, The Frederick News-Post

Parental prescription opioid use linked to increased child suicide risk

A new study published in journal JAMA Psychiatry suggests that children of parents who chronically use prescription opioids have an...
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May 21, 2019 / Crime Reporting, Health reporting, The Frederick News-Post

Pediatrician charged with rape posts bail after being given $400,000 bond

A judge ordered Dr. Ernesto Torres, a Frederick pediatrician charged with rape, to be held on $400,000 bail Tuesday after...
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May 13, 2019 / Featured Clips, Health reporting, The Frederick News-Post

Bill withdrawal leaves Mount Airy family, others with PANDAS with little help fighting expensive procedures

The changes to Colin LaVern came overnight. Colin, of Mount Airy, was 7 or 8 years old when he started...
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April 17, 2019 / Crime Reporting, Domestic Violence, Featured Clips, Health reporting, The Frederick News-Post

The girlfriend

Monica Gabriel sat before a judge in Frederick County Circuit Court for yet another contempt hearing in her divorce. On...
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April 16, 2019 / Crime Reporting, Domestic Violence, Featured Clips, Health reporting, The Frederick News-Post

The child

Stephanie Furr sat in a jail cell as May turned to June in 2018. The charges against her included financially...
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April 15, 2019 / Crime Reporting, Domestic Violence, Featured Clips, Health reporting, The Frederick News-Post

The pattern

Monica Gabriel picked up the phone. On the other line was a private investigator looking into her ex-husband, a man...
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April 14, 2019 / Crime Reporting, Domestic Violence, Featured Clips, Health reporting, The Frederick News-Post

A Marriage Con: The Death

The phone rang at Patricia Gabriel’s home. A creditor was on the other end. They called to say Gabriel’s daughter,...
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March 26, 2019 / Health reporting, The Frederick News-Post

Medical aid-in-dying bill advances to state Senate

A substantially changed medical aid-in-dying bill is headed to the Maryland Senate for debate this week. The 2019 session will...
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March 5, 2019 / Brain Science, Domestic Violence, Health reporting, Science reporting, The Frederick News-Post

New study suggests intergenerational effect of witnessing intimate partner violence in childhood

Witnessing intimate-partner violence as a child may have an intergenerational effect, a new article in journal Stress suggests. A set of four...
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