Joanne Silberner is a freelance reporter and artist-in-residence at the University of Washington in Seattle. For 18 years, she covered health issues for NPR.
Joanne Silberner is a freelance reporter and artist-in-residence at the University of Washington in Seattle. For 18 years, she covered health issues for NPR. Silberner has an undergraduate degree in biology from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. She spent a year on a fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has also had fellowships from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Carter Center.
Rihana Shekha Dhapali is a victim of bride burning in Nepal. Minakshi Rana is a counselor who is working with Dhapali and other women like her, to cope with what happened to them.
Malaria kills 2,000 people per year in this country of 23 million people. Virtually all of these deaths could be prevented by mosquito control and early treatment.
Floods, wildfires, droughts and heat waves have struck Australia in recent years, leaving survivors traumatized. With more extreme weather predicted as the earth warms up, mental health experts are seeking ways to prepare the public emotionally.
Despite growing evidence that the earth's climate is changing, many people remain skeptical. This denialism is often seen as a political response to the issue, but some mental health experts in Australia say it can also be a beneficial coping mechanism.
Adult-onset diabetes is increasingly common in Cambodia, yet many Cambodian diabetics don't exhibit the usual risk factors. Could the country be experiencing a delayed effect of famine in the 1970s?
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for early death around the world. Yet in developing nations, the condition often goes undiagnosed and untreated. Reporter Joanne Silberner traveled to Cambodia to find out why.
In Asia, rice is king, and white rice is the norm. But with rates of diabetes soaring, public health advocates want locals to switch to healthier brown rice. Reporter Joanne Silberner discovers it's nearly impossible.
Richard Horton, editor of the medical journal The Lancet, criticizes governments and foundations for overlooking cancer as an important issue in the developing world. In an interview with reporter Joanne Silberner, Horton urges political leaders to take up the cause.
Modern cancer care involves more than the latest surgical techniques and drugs; it also offers freedom from pain. Yet basic palliative care is almost nonexistent for many patients in developing countries. What is being done to bring them pain relief?
Cancer can be triggered by infectious diseases, especially in impoverished parts of the world. Scientists in the US and Africa are working to unravel how viruses and bacteria cause malignancies.
Cervical cancer is far more common in the developing world than in the US. One reason: women in the US receive routine screening that catches it in its earliest stages. A low-cost test being rolled out in India could save tens of thousands of lives.