Ricki Lewis, PhD: ASHG Information & Education Committee

(Genetics & Science Communication Expert)

Genetic testing has outpaced consumer knowledge and raised bioethical concerns. The media can bridge the gap between science and society by going to genetics professionals first for answers. - Ricki Lewis, PhD

	Information & Education Committee, ASHG
	Undergraduate Education Committee, ASHG
	Genetic Counselor, CareNet Medical Group
	Fellow, Alden March Bioethics Institute, Albany Medical Center
	Textbook Author, McGraw-Hill Higher Education
	Contributor, Nature Publishing Group
	Corresponding Editor, American Journal of Bioethics
	Editorial Board Member, Journal of Biomedical Discovery & Collaboration
	Report Writer, Cambridge Healthtech Associates
	Science Writer, Cure Huntington Disease Initiative
	Freelance Science Writer (2000+ articles published since 1980)

Areas of Interest & Expertise:

Ricki Lewis, PhD is an accomplished and experienced human genetics science writer, educator and public speaker. Accordingly, Dr. Lewis’ interests are diverse, wide-ranging, and reflective of the evolution of the field. Lewis has a particular interest in studying the impact of media coverage on public understanding of human genetics, and is an authority on effective science/health communication practices and tactics.

With her diverse background and years of experience in science communication, Lewis has developed the ability to discuss difficult scientific issues and translate complex genetics information into plain language for the press and general public. Lewis is particularly knowledgeable about the obstacles that often impede effective science/health communication, and she can therefore speak to the challenges inherent in understanding complex scientific information about human genetics research and translating the information into an interesting and engaging news story or feature.

Lewis is able to address a variety of topics related to her background and experience in the field, including the following:

• Basic standards and guidelines for effective science/health communication among scientists, the media, health care practitioners and the general public

• Public, media, and health care community understanding/misunderstanding of human genetics facts, concepts and implications

  • The influence of media coverage on public understanding of human genetics

• Genetic disease (special interest in Huntington disease), genetic variation

• Genetic testing (prenatal diagnosis, newborn screening, predictive, forensic, direct-to-consumer, ancestry, etc.)

• Genetic counseling

• Assisted reproductive technologies

• Stem cell science

• Biotechnology

• Science and society, bioethics

• Interface of human genetics with other fields (anthropology, history, sociology, psychology)

Biography:

Ricki Lewis, PhD is an accomplished genetic counselor and science writer, educator and public speaker with 25 years of experience in the field. She has built a multifaceted career around writing, teaching and communicating about the exciting world of the life sciences, especially genetics and biotechnology, to a wide variety of audiences.

Lewis earned a PhD in genetics from Indiana University in 1980, where she worked with homeotic mutations in Drosophila melanogaster (i.e., flies that had legs growing out of their heads due to mixed up stem-like cells). She has been a genetic counselor at an OB/GYN practice since 1984, and has taught various biology courses at SUNY Albany, Empire State College, and Miami University. Lewis is also a contributing editor for the American Journal of Bioethics.

Lewis has published thousands of articles in a range of different places – from magazines and medical journals, to encyclopedias, annual reports for biotech and pharmaceutical companies, technical reports, women's health pamphlets, book reviews, a bioethics blog, and a screenplay. Her articles have appeared in Discover, Nature, Science, The Scientist, Genetic Engineering News, The FDA Consumer, Applied Neurology, and various consumer and business magazines.
 

Lewis is author or co-author of four life science university-level textbooks published by McGraw-Hill Higher Education, and an essay collection published by Blackwell Science. Her college textbook, Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications, is in its eighth edition and widely used throughout the U.S. by non-science majors.

Lewis' goal in writing and speaking is to engage and educate people who fear science in a way that enables them to makes sense of what is happening in their world so that they can make informed decisions. Lewis claims that she uses her journalism experience to keep her science writing “interesting and very up-to-date, even futuristic.”