John Ashkenas

Background

About John Ashkenas

Molecular biologist turned writer and editor. After my PhD (MIT, 1993) and postdoctoral years (UCSF and Lawrence Berkeley Labs), I started a new career in science publishing, working on the scientific staff of 3 biomedical journals over about 8 years (Am J Hum Genetics, J Clin Invest, and the now defunct Preclinica magazine). In 2003, SARS1 brought me back into the lab for a year or so. Since then, I’ve been in medical communications, where I’ve worked on a lot of worthwhile writing projects and been privileged to help launch the careers of some great younger writers. A few years back, I shed all managerial obligations and cut my work hours to focus on a smaller number of larger projects. With the pandemic, I’ve acquired a serious side interest in Covid biology and clinical science, and I’ve worked with some great co-authors to write and publish op-ed pieces on the subject. My time is my own (some of it, anyway), and I’m very much open to further adventures, so feel free to hit me up with any interesting ideas.