We’re thrilled to announce that Carolyn Y. Johnson will be joining the Financial staff to cover the business of health care. Carolyn has reported for the Boston Globe since 2004, and has been the paper’s lead science reporter since 2008. She is a versatile, inquisitive writer with accountability instincts and a strong background in science.
Carolyn majored in English and physics at Amherst, and earned a master’s in science writing from MIT. She started the Globe’s Science in Mind blog in 2012, and in 2013 was part of a team of four reporters that was a Pulitzer finalist for covering a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak tied to a compounding pharmacy in the Boston area. As part of that package, Carolyn wrote a gripping narrative about how doctors nationwide were stumped and overwhelmed by cases of fungal meningitis before they began piecing together the origins of the outbreak.
Carolyn also was among the first to write about the high prices of specialty drugs to treat rare diseases, and the odd economic incentives that make them feasible. And she has written surprising stories on obstacles facing young medical researchers, such as the way they have bucked tradition in publishing findings, the way older researchers exploit graduate assistants and how heavily federal funding favors senior citizen scientists.
We’re excited about Carolyn’s ability to break news and explain a complicated industry, as well as her potential to contribute to Wonkblog and collaborate with the Health and Science team. Please join us in welcoming Carolyn when she starts on June 29.