Patti Neighmond
Award-winning journalist Patti Neighmond is NPR's health policy correspondent. Her reports air regularly on NPR newsmagazines All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition.
Based in Los Angeles, Neighmond has covered health care policy since April 1987. She joined NPR's staff in 1981, covering local New York City news as well as the United Nations. In 1984, she became a producer for NPR's science unit and specialized in science and environmental issues.
Neighmond has earned a broad array of awards for her reporting. In 1993, she received the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for coverage of health reform. That same year, she received the Robert F. Kennedy Award for a story on a young quadriplegic who convinced Georgia officials that she could live at home less expensively and more happily than in a nursing home. In 1990, Neighmond won the World Hunger Award for a story about healthcare and low-income children. She received two awards in 1989: a George Polk Award for her powerful ten-part series on AIDS patient Archie Harrison, who was taking the anti-viral drug AZT; and a Major Armstrong Award for her series on the Canadian health care system. The Population Institute, based in Washington, DC, has presented its radio documentary award to Neighmond twice: in 1988 for "Family Planning in India" and in 1984 for her coverage of overpopulation in Mexico. Her 1987 report "AIDS and Doctors" won the National Press Club Award for Consumer Journalism, and her two-part series on the aquaculture industry earned the 1986 American Association for the Advancement of Science Award.
Neighmond began her career in journalism in 1978, at the Pacifica Foundation's DC bureau, where she covered Capitol Hill and the White House. She began freelance reporting for NPR from New York City in 1980. Neighmond earned her bachelor's degree in English and drama from the University of Maryland, and now lives in Los Angeles.
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The jury's been out on whether low blood levels of vitamin D increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Researchers say a new review involving more than 12,000 people strongly suggests the answer is yes. -
Scientists have long been fascinated with whether dramatically restricting the amount of food we eat can help us live longer. New research suggests it might, but the question is, is it worth it? -
Mathilde Krim, who died this week, was a vocal pioneer in HIV treatment and research at a time when discrimination against people with AIDS in the U.S. was rampant, even in medical care. -
The absolute risk is very low. But low-dose formulations of birth control pills and other hormone-releasing contraceptives pose about the same risk to breasts as older formulations, a big study finds. -
For the first time, the American Academy of Pediatrics has weighed in on what teens and young adults (and their doctors and parents) need to know about safely getting piercings and tattoos. -
The whiter the smile the more attractive the person, research finds. Both men and women say white teeth matter when choosing a mate. This may be why whitening teeth is a $3.2 billion industry. -
A new study finds that people who are overweight, but not obese, have shorter life spans. It's the opposite of a 2013 study that got a lot of attention by finding a few pounds might be good for you. -
Cytomegalovirus is everywhere, and it usually doesn't make people sick. But if a woman gets infected while pregnant, in rare cases it can cause serious problems for the baby. -
A majority of models say they're threatened with job loss if they don't shed pounds. Researchers worry this contributes to poor body image and might increase eating disorders among teenage girls.
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A study tracking depression rates among U.S. teens from 2005 to 2014 finds an increase — especially among girls. A steady diet of harsh judgments from social media may play a role, researchers say.
