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American Society for Microbiology selects Mass Media Fellows

Washington, D.C. - April 17, 2001 - The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has selected Tinsley Davis, a third-year Ph.D. candidate from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Lisa Rezende, a current postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School, as the recipients of its 2001 Mass Media Fellowships. As Mass Media Fellows, Davis will spend 10 weeks this summer working at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper in St. Louis, MO and Rezende at National Public Radio in Washington, DC. Each will participate in the process by which events become news and develop skills in communicating complex technical subjects to non-specialists in order to facilitate more accurate coverage of science and technology in the news.

The annual award is part of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellows Program. Its goal is to strengthen the relationship between science, technology and the media by encouraging educated scientists to develop the ability to write about science issues for a lay audience. Each year ASM selects and sponsors at least one fellow to participate in the program.

A native of Spartanburg, SC, Davis earned a B.S. in Biology from Swarthmore College, in 1998. She will complete her Ph.D. in Microbiology in 2003 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she is currently serving as partial appointee in the Concurrent Student K-Infinity program sponsored in association with the National Science Foundation and the University of Wisconsin. As a K-Infinity Fellow, Davis spends seven hours a week working with teachers to enhance science instruction in the classroom. She is also a member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society and the American Society for Microbiology.

Rezende hails from Santa Rosa, CA and earned her B.S. in Biochemistry from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo in 1992 and her M.S. in 1994 and PhD in 1999, both from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. She is currently pursuing postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School. She is also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Medical Writers Association.

The fellowship program places fellows at newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations throughout the country. They receive a weekly stipend and all travel expenses paid. In early June fellows meet in Washington, D.C. to take part in an orientation session consisting of basic journalism workshops and visits to various newsrooms.

Prospective fellows must demonstrate a commitment to public understanding of science and technology and should be working on or have obtained an advanced degree in microbiology. Applications and further information can be found on ASM's website at www.asmusa.org. The American Society for Microbiology is the largest single life science society, with 43,000 members worldwide who work as scientists, teachers, physicians, and health professionals. Its mission is to promote research and research training in the microbiological sciences and to assist communication between scientists, policymakers, and the public to improve health, the environment, and economic well being.

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