With around 450 members, the MJA is the largest association representing health and medical journalists in the UK — and beyond, as some of our newest members attest. Please welcome:
Emily Cook is a health news writer at Live Science, based in London. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Durham University and a master’s degree in clinical and therapeutic neuroscience from Oxford University.
She has worked in science communication, medical writing and as a local news reporter while undertaking journalism training. In 2018, she was named one of MHP Communications’ 30 journalists to watch under 30.
Heidi Ledford is a reporter on the news team at Nature, covering biology and medical research, with a particular focus on cancer biology and gene editing.
She is now based in Seattle, Washington, but has previously worked for Nature in London, Boston, and Washington DC. Before all of that, she received a PhD in plant biology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Martin W. Angler is a freelance science writer based in Italy. He covers psychology, medicine and technology for magazines and newspapers.
Martin was a finalist in the ABSW 2024 awards for his essay “When Grief Doesn’t End” (Aeon 2023). His books “Science Journalism: an introduction” (Routledge 2017) and “Telling Science Storytelling (Routledge 2020) are used to teach science journalism at universities across the globe.
Theres Luethi is an award-winning bilingual (E/D) medical journalist with over 25 years of professional experience. After completing her PhD in neuroscience, Theres left academia to become a science journalist.
She spent most of her career to date as science editor/journalist at the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (“NZZ” and “NZZ am Sonntag”), one of the leading newspapers based in Zurich, Switzerland. In 2024, following a fellowship in London, she decided to go freelance.
Theres began her career as a general biomedical reporter, but over the years has narrowed down the range of topics she covers.
Now, she mainly write about neuroscience, particularly Alzheimer’s and dementia research, mental illness, infectious disease, including Covid and Long Covid, and cancer. She says, “In my view these are fascinating areas, also because they are interwoven with important societal issues. I am interested in how social, economic and environmental factors impact human health.”
She was born in Zurich (Switzerland), grew up in New Jersey (USA) and Frankfurt (Germany), and studied in Switzerland and the USA. Having lived in different countries and communities, she says, “I was taught early on to look at things from multiple perspectives, which I believe has helped me in my work as a journalist.”
Tessa Gooding describes herself as “a values-driven and enterprising social infrastructure strategic planner, consultant and journalist who has developed successful initiatives across sectors and disciplines”.
She says, “I currently have a particular interest in reporting on healthcare and life science research to raise public awareness and improve clinical outcomes for postnatal patients. The BMJ recently published a health news feature, which is flagged on the cover. I’ve also published a health news feature in the Metro, publish local news on the Kingston Courier website, and am training for the industry recognised NCTJ Diploma.”
Tessa initially volunteered as a journalist over ten years ago in Cape Town, investigating, writing and sub-editing news articles for GroundUp. GroundUp hope their reporting will help address some of the problems of accountability and service delivery in South Africa’s communities.
Payam Felehgari is a freelance writer, living in Turkey who covers the effects of nutrients on physical and mental health. The benefits and harms of nutrients on health, psyche, sex, the costs of healthcare, culture, and social habits constitute the subjects of my writings.
He says, “My works are being published in the UK, and I am currently in the process of finishing another book that discusses the impacts and factors contributing to the formation of cyclic hydrocarbons, arachidonic acid, heterocyclic amines, and the harmful effects of several other chemical substances in foods.”
He is fluent in Turkish, Persian, Kurdish, and English and is also a member of the Guild of Health Writers.
Click here for more information on eligibility and details of how to join the MJA
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