Rob Stein Rob Stein is a Correspondent and Senior Editor on NPR's Science Desk.
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Rob Stein

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Headshot of Rob Stein
Mike Morgan/NPR

Rob Stein

Correspondent and Senior Editor, Science Desk

Rob Stein is a correspondent and senior editor on NPR's science desk.

An award-winning science journalist with more than 30 years of experience, Stein mostly covers health and medicine. He tends to focus on stories that illustrate the intersection of science, health, politics, social trends, ethics, and federal science policy. He tracks genetics, stem cells, cancer research, women's health issues, and other science, medical, and health policy news.

Before NPR, Stein worked at The Washington Post for 16 years, first as the newspaper's science editor and then as a national health reporter. Earlier in his career, Stein spent about four years as an editor at NPR's science desk. Before that, he was a science reporter for United Press International (UPI) in Boston and the science editor of the international wire service in Washington.

Stein frequently represents NPR, speaking at universities, international meetings and other venues, including the University of Cambridge in Britain, the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea, and the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

Stein's work has been honored by many organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Association of Health Care Journalists. He was twice part of NPR teams that won Peabody Awards.

Stein is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He completed a journalism fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health, a program in science and religion at the University of Cambridge, and a summer science writer's workshop at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.

He can be reached via encrypted message at robstein.22 on Signal.

Story Archive

Tuesday

What to know about getting an updated COVID-19 vaccine

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Monday

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new recommendations for COVID vaccination that require a consultation with a health professional first. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Thursday

It's been hard for parents to get their kids COVID-19 shots recently, as well as for many healthy adults, since the CDC hasn't weighed in with official guidelines for administering them. Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images

The CDC still hasn’t issued COVID vaccine guidelines, leaving access in limbo

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Tuesday

This image shows a human egg after its original DNA has been replaced with DNA from an adult skin cell. Mitalipov laboratory hide caption

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Mitalipov laboratory

Scientists create human eggs in the lab, using skin cells

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Friday

ACIP member Retsef Levi speaks during a meeting of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on September 18, 2025 in Atlanta, Ga. The federal vaccine advisory group, recently appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., made recommendations on the COVID vaccine. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images hide caption

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Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

RFK Jr.'s vaccine panel backs away from asking states to require an Rx for a COVID shot

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Thursday

Martin Kulldorff, chairman of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, speaks during a Thursday meeting of the panel in Chamblee, Ga. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images hide caption

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Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

CDC’s new advisers debate changing guidance on childhood vaccines

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Saturday

Thursday

Therese McRae with her daughter (left), Stephan Neidenbach (upper right, with his wife Jennifer, and their children) and Jason Mitton (lower right) all want the COVID vaccine and are having trouble getting it. Therese McRae; Stephan Neidenbach; and Jason Mitton hide caption

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Therese McRae; Stephan Neidenbach; and Jason Mitton

New federal restrictions on COVID-19 vaccine eligibility cause confusion and anger

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New federal restrictions on COVID-19 vaccine eligibility cause confusion and anger

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Saturday

A look at the dramatic week in the world of vaccines and RFK's Senate hearing

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Thursday

Wednesday

The Food and Drug Administration's approvals for the latest round of COVID-19 shots restrict the shots to people at higher risk of complications from COVID. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

COVID Vaccines

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Friday

A nine-day-old human embryo seen through a microscope. Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) hide caption

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Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)

Embryos small but mighty, first live videos show

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Tuesday

The controversial world of gene-edited babies, and some companies' recent quests to push the technology forward. jm1366/Getty Images hide caption

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jm1366/Getty Images

Wednesday

A researcher works at the Moderna headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In May, the Trump administration pulled over $700 million committed to Moderna for developing future flu vaccines, and this week it canceled another $500 million in grants to various institutions researching mRNA vaccines. Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg/Getty Images hide caption

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Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Public health experts dismayed by RFK Jr.'s defunding of mRNA vaccine research

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Advances in gene-editing are leading to renewed interest in modifying DNA in human embryos. VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/Science Photo Library/Getty Images hide caption

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VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

The quest to create genetically modified babies is getting a reboot

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Tuesday

The quest to create genetically modified babies is getting a reboot

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Friday

The implications of the Trump administration's aggressive new vaccine policies

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Thursday

Scientists are working to develop an artificial blood that can be available for medics to use in an emergency when regular blood is not available. Eli Meir Kaplan for NPR hide caption

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Eli Meir Kaplan for NPR

Tuesday

Summer surge in COVID cases appears to have begun, epidemiologists say

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Monday

Scientists are optimistic about getting closer to creating artificial blood

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Sunday

A view of the Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Stadium, defunct and currently under demolition, in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2025. President Trump is threatening to intervene in a deal for a new stadium. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The United States Environmental Protection Agency building is seen in August 2024 in Washington, D.C. The Trump administration is shutting down the agency's unit for scientific research. Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images hide caption

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Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images

Wednesday

Mitochondria, like the one seen in cutaway view, are the powerhouses inside cells. ARTUR PLAWGO/Getty Images/Science Photo Library hide caption

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ARTUR PLAWGO/Getty Images/Science Photo Library

How a third parent’s DNA can prevent an inherited disease

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