Pien Huang
Pien Huang is a health reporter on the Science desk. She was NPR's first Reflect America Fellow, working with shows, desks and podcasts to bring more diverse voices to air and online.
She's a former producer for WBUR/NPR's On Point and was a 2018 Environmental Reporting Fellow with The GroundTruth Project at WCAI in Cape Cod, covering the human impact on climate change. As a freelance audio and digital reporter, Huang's stories on the environment, arts and culture have been featured on NPR, the BBC and PRI's The World.
Huang's experiences span categories and continents. She was executive producer of Data Made to Matter, a podcast from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and was also an adjunct instructor in podcasting and audio journalism at Northeastern University. She worked as a project manager for public artist Ralph Helmick to help plan and execute The Founder's Memorial in Abu Dhabi and with Stoltze Design to tell visual stories through graphic design. Huang has traveled with scientists looking for signs of environmental change in Cameroon's frogs, in Panama's plants and in the ocean water off the ice edge of Antarctica. She has a degree in environmental science and public policy from Harvard.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture kicks off a new program looking for highly pathogenic bird flu in the milk supply. Starting this week, they're testing samples of milk intended for pasteurization.
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A new CDC report finds that more than 85% of U.S. adults 65 and older are not getting enough exercise. All adults should get moderate aerobic activity and weight or resistance training every week.
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If the new administration embraces proposals to cut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's budget and its mission, the public health agency could look very different than it does today. -
A deeper dive into Wednesday's post-election interview with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and his skepticism of public health expertise.
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As the female-dominated sport gets more acrobatic, girls are racking up more concussions and other injuries. A new pediatricians' report calls for change. -
The EPA issued a final rule requiring water systems to replace all lead pipes within 10 years. Water advocates lauded the rule as a public health victory, but say there's much work to be done.
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Tropical storm Helene caused 'catastrophic' damage to Asheville’s water treatment and distribution system, cutting off at least 70% of the city’s drinking water supply. -
Officials in Asheville say the city's water systems were "severely damaged" in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Precise assessments are hard, since roads have washed away.
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Researchers at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine find that a gap between states and the federal government has led to fragmented policies and risks to public health. -
Cannabis use has changed in recent years, as many states have legalized it. An influential group of scientists recommends policy changes to protect public health.
