William Heisel
Contributing Editor
Contributing Editor
I have reported on health for most of my career. My work as an investigative reporter at the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register exposed problems with the fertility industry, the trade in human body parts and the use of illegal drugs in sports. I helped create a first-of-its-kind report card judging hospitals on a wide array of measures for a story that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. I was one of the lead reporters on a series of stories about lead in candy, a series that also was a finalist for the Pulitzer.For the Center for Health Journalism (previously known as Reporting on Health), I have written about investigative health reporting and occasionally broke news on my column, Antidote. I also was the project editor on the Just One Breath collaborative reporting series. These days, for the University of Washington, I now work as the Executive Director for Insitutue for Health Metrics and Evaluation's Client Services, a social enterprise. You can follow me on Twitter @wheisel.
<p>Coca-Cola says it doesn't market to kids under 12. The Prevention Institute is skeptical. Here's why.</p>
<p>When controversial bioethicist Glenn McGee quit his job as chief ethics advisor to Houston-based Celltex Therapeutics in February, the controversy over the company was on the verge of dying down. Until Celltex threatened a major public university and the very concept of free speech.</p>
<p>The most exciting exchange erupting on Twitter last week wasn’t about Kony 2012. Or Nandito Ako. It was about NNT — number needed to treat.</p>
<p>If Coca-Cola doesn't market to kids, why are its logos all over city parks and youth sports events? Get tips on how to report on soft-drink makers' deals with local agencies in your community.</p>
<p>Why did the California Medical Board take so long after Michael Jackson's death to revoke Conrad Murray's medical license? The board's spokesman explains.</p>
<p>The Medical Board of California finally has filed a petition to revoke Dr. Conrad Murray’s medical license, <em>nearly three years</em> after Michael Jackson died after taking anesthesia drugs Murray gave him. So what took so long?</p>
<p>How culpable is an international food conglomerate for the waistlines of kids in your neighborhood?</p>
<p>The controversy over revisions to psychiatry's bible, the DSM, isn't just about autism. Guest blogger Mary Schweitzer throws chronic fatigue syndrome into the mix.</p>
Why did Slate retract a critical commentary by bioethicist Carl Elliott on stem cell firm Celltex after a demand by the controversial company's CEO?
<p>From the way the American Psychiatric Association threatened writer Suzy Chapman, one would think APA is fighting legal battles everywhere to protect its trademarks. But the British mental health blogger appears to be in an elite category.</p>