CDC Foundation Announces New Fellowship Experience for Journalists.

Business Editors, Health/Medical Writers

ATLANTA--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 24, 2000

Six mid-career journalists in science and health/medicine have the opportunity to experience public health with scientists and researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta through a new CDC Foundation journalism program.

Applications are now being accepted for the Knight Journalism Fellowships at CDC (www.cdcfoundation.org/kjf), a four-month program beginning July 2000. The fellowship opportunity was developed by the CDC Foundation, a non-profit enterprise that fights threats to health by creating programs with CDC, with a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Miami, a national foundation that supports programs in journalism, education, and arts and culture.

During their fellowship, Knight Fellows will learn first-hand about public health, receiving specialized training in epidemiology, biostatistics, and population-based approaches to health with members of the 2000 class of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), CDC's "disease detectives."

Knight Fellows also will investigate an outbreak with EIS officers, conduct research on a topic of their choice with a CDC scientist, participate in seminars with noted speakers on public health issues and work in the field at a health department in metropolitan Atlanta.

While experience covering science, medicine, health or health policy is preferred, the fellowships are open to any journalist who has worked at least five years for newspapers, magazines, radio, television or the Internet.

An advisory committee of prominent individuals in public health, communication and academia is helping the CDC Foundation and the CDC develop the program. Members of the committee are: Lawrence K. Altman, M.D., medical correspondent, The New York Times; Jay Bookman, associate editorial page editor, The Atlanta Constitution; Dolores (Dolly) Katz, Ph.D., regional epidemiologist, Florida Department of Health; Carol Kinstle, director of health coverage, CNN Medical Unit; Thomas R. Linden, M.D., Glaxo Wellcome Distinguished Professor of Medical Journalism, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; George Strait, Jr., vice president of content for drspock.com and former medical correspondent, ABC News; and Sanford Ungar, Director, Voice of America.

Journalists interested in learning more about or applying for the fellowship should visit the fellowship's Web site at http://www.cdcfoundation.org/kjf.