Lauren Silverman
Lauren Silverman is the Health, Science & Technology reporter/blogger at KERA News. She is also the primary backup host for KERA’s Think and the statewide newsmagazine Texas Standard. In 2016, Lauren was recognized as Texas Health Journalist of the Year by the Texas Medical Association. She was part of the Peabody Award-winning team that covered Ebola for NPR in 2014. She also hosted "Surviving Ebola," a special that won Best Long Documentary honors from the Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI). And she's won a number of regional awards, including an honorable mention for Edward R. Murrow award (for her project “The Broken Hip”), as well as the Texas Veterans Commission’s Excellence in Media Awards in the radio category.
Before joining KERA, Lauren worked at NPR’s weekend All Things Considered in Washington, D.C. There, she produced national stories on everything from the politics of climate change to the future of online education. While at All Things Considered, Lauren also produced a piece on neighborhood farms in Compton, Calif., that won a National Association of Black Journalism’s Salute to Excellence Award.
As a freelance reporter, Lauren has written and recorded stories in English and Spanish for a variety of news outlets, including NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Here & Now; American Public Media’s Marketplace; Sound Medicine and Latino USA.
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In a new series called "Is My Job Safe?" NPR looks at the future of jobs at a time of rapid gains in artificial intelligence and robotics. We start with a high-paying job in medicine: radiologists. -
Lots of people forget to take their medicine on time. Now firms are selling "smart" pill bottles that send patients reminders through the Internet. But maybe the real problem isn't forgetfulness. -
Cyberattacks and data breaches are common at health care facilities, and they can put patients' health at risk. Hospitals are behind the curve in beefing up defenses, industry analysts say. -
For the first time, a medically approved birth control app has been certified as a method of contraception. It relies on math, an algorithm and a woman's body temperature to determine fertility. -
Giving people who have serious mental illness peer support has proved so helpful that some states are starting to pay these peer specialists to bridge the gap when there aren't enough professionals. -
Teenage pregnancy rates have declined across the country, but some parts of Texas have made much less progress on that. Abstinence-only sex ed policies may be one reason why. -
Scientists are learning that some astronauts' eyes change shape after time in space, leading to vision problems. But a sleep sack being developed might offer relief.
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A quarter of doctors practicing in the U.S. went to medical school elsewhere. Many of these physicians practice in parts of this country that the government says need more primary care providers. -
The agency has decided to leave kratom off its list of highly restricted drugs for now. The DEA is asking for public comment and help from the Food and Drug Administration in evaluating kratom. -
The Drug Enforcement Administration is cracking down on a plant that it says is involved in a number of deaths. Advocates say kratom can help treat opioid addiction, which is a far bigger hazard.
