Barbara Feder Ostrov, Senior Correspondent for California Healthline, has reported on medicine and health policy for more than 15 years. She covered the medical beat for the San Jose Mercury News for eight years and edited the website of the Center for Health Journalism at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism. She previously worked at The Palm Beach Post and the Miami Herald. Her work also has been published in The Boston Globe, Ms. Magazine, Atlantic.com, PBS NewsHour, NPR, CNN.com and EverydayHealth.com. She has won awards from the Society for Women’s Health Research, the California Newspaper Publishers Association and the Florida Press Club. She is based in San Jose, California.
Barbara Feder Ostrov
Kaiser Health News
From this contributor
How the college admissions cheating scandal hurts students with disabilities
In the wake of this week's college admissions cheating scandal, families and advocates are worried about a backlash that could make it harder for students with legitimate disabilities to get the accommodations the need.

How the college admissions cheating scandal hurts students with disabilities
Study of birth defects, folic acid in foods finds more questions than answers
Fortifying cereal and bread products with folic acid has not led to as dramatic a decline in congenital defects as expected.

Study of birth defects, folic acid in foods finds more questions than answers
Explore more from The Transmitter
Diving in with Nachum Ulanovsky
With an eye toward realism, the neuroscientist, who has a new study about bats out today, creates microcosms of the natural world to understand animal behavior.

Diving in with Nachum Ulanovsky
With an eye toward realism, the neuroscientist, who has a new study about bats out today, creates microcosms of the natural world to understand animal behavior.
Gene-activity map of developing brain reveals new clues about autism’s sex bias
Boys and girls may be vulnerable to different genetic changes, which could help explain why the condition is more common in boys despite linked variants appearing more often in girls.

Gene-activity map of developing brain reveals new clues about autism’s sex bias
Boys and girls may be vulnerable to different genetic changes, which could help explain why the condition is more common in boys despite linked variants appearing more often in girls.
Engrams in amygdala lean on astrocytes to solidify memories
Disrupting the astrocyte-neuronal dynamic in mice destabilizes their memory of fear conditioning.

Engrams in amygdala lean on astrocytes to solidify memories
Disrupting the astrocyte-neuronal dynamic in mice destabilizes their memory of fear conditioning.