Michaeleen Doucleff
Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD, is a correspondent for NPR's Science Desk. For nearly a decade, she has been reporting for the radio and the web for NPR's global health outlet, Goats and Soda. Doucleff focuses on disease outbreaks, cross-cultural parenting, and women and children's health.
In 2014, Doucleff was part of the team that earned a George Foster Peabody award for its coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. For the series, Doucleff reported on how the epidemic ravaged maternal health and how the virus spreads through the air. In 2019, Doucleff and Senior Producer Jane Greenhalgh produced a story about how Inuit parents teach children to control their anger. That story was the most popular one on NPR.org for the year; altogether readers have spent more than 16 years worth of time reading it.
In 2021, Doucleff published a book, called Hunt, Gather, Parent, stemming from her reporting at NPR. That book became a New York Times bestseller.
Before coming to NPR in 2012, Doucleff was an editor at the journal Cell, where she wrote about the science behind pop culture. Doucleff has a bachelor degree in biology from Caltech, a doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Berkeley, California, and a master's degree in viticulture and enology from the University of California, Davis.
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It's a new way to treat hydrocephalus. A study show it could save thousands of lives – in poor countries like Uganda and in rich countries, too. -
Climate change isn't new. Scientists are studying an ancient civilization in the Arctic to figure out how they survived climate change. The clues are buried in a secret, seaside neighborhood. -
It took 20 years and $1.5 billion to develop a vaccine for dengue, a deadly mosquito-borne virus. After it finally got approval in many countries, a complication has surfaced. -
Who ruled early farming? Women! Studies of ancient bones show that women's physical labor was crucial to driving the agricultural revolution in Europe. -
Studies of ancient bones show that women's physical labor was crucial to driving the agricultural revolution in Europe. These women's upper bodies were stronger than that of elite athletes today.
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The virus, a cousin of smallpox, is popping up in some African countries — and making headlines in the U.S. But is it really a rising threat? -
For decades, scientists have noticed something particular about a mosquito-borne virus: The second infection can cause your blood vessels to leak, like with Ebola. Now scientists think they know why. -
For decades, scientists have predicted how climate change will hurt people's health. Now an international team of researchers say they're already seeing some of the damage. -
Talking to a device that talks back can be entertaining and educational for children. But psychologists say children can develop relationships with these devices that can be different than adults. -
It looks like dog DNA has evolved in lockstep with our DNA. A new study finds evidence in Nigeria's street dogs.
