Brendan Borrell is a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles, California. His stories have appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Outside, National Geographic and many other publications. He is the author of “The First Shots: The Epic Rivalries and Heroic Science Behind the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccine,” and he has a Ph.D. in integrative biology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Brendan Borrell
Contributing writer
From this contributor
Still no proof for facilitated spelling methods
A systematic review into whether the “rapid prompting method” or “spelling to communicate” can help autistic people express themselves comes up empty yet again.
Still no proof for facilitated spelling methods
By
Brendan Borrell
21 May 2026 | 6 min read
Exclusive: Who is Richard Frye, the neurologist who researches and advocates for leucovorin as an autism treatment?
Frye has led two placebo-controlled trials of the folate supplement in autistic people; the first was suspended by regulators, and the other has yet to be published.
Alzheimer’s scientist forced to retract paper during his own replication effort
Gary Dunbar, a neuroscientist at Central Michigan University, was attempting to redo the 2020 paper after a collaborator admitted to using flawed data in the original work.
Alzheimer’s scientist forced to retract paper during his own replication effort
By
Brendan Borrell
18 July 2025 | 4 min read
Former Columbia University psychiatrist committed research misconduct, says federal watchdog
Bret Rutherford, whose research was halted following a suicide in a clinical trial, falsely reported participant eligibility, according to the U.S. Office of Research Integrity.
Former Columbia University psychiatrist committed research misconduct, says federal watchdog
By
Brendan Borrell, Ellie Kincaid
8 October 2024 | 3 min read
FDA describes ‘objectionable conditions’ at New York State Psychiatric Institute
The facility’s institutional review board failed to report a 2021 incident and “serious and ongoing noncompliance” by a principal investigator, according to a letter released by the federal agency this week.
FDA describes ‘objectionable conditions’ at New York State Psychiatric Institute
By
Brendan Borrell
2 April 2024 | 6 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
Sylvia Fogel, reshaping U.S. autism research strategy
In a wide-ranging and provocative interview, the chair of the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee shares her views on vaccines, regression, neuroimmune conditions and more.
Sylvia Fogel, reshaping U.S. autism research strategy
In a wide-ranging and provocative interview, the chair of the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee shares her views on vaccines, regression, neuroimmune conditions and more.
By
Brady Huggett
17 September 2026 | 77 min watch
Human brain organoids flourish in emptied mouse cortex
The chimeric mice could help untangle the biology of human brain development or conditions such as autism.
Human brain organoids flourish in emptied mouse cortex
The chimeric mice could help untangle the biology of human brain development or conditions such as autism.
By
Brianna Abbott
16 September 2026 | 6 min read
What if Hegel were a neuroscientist?
Andrea Gambarotto shares what Hegel and enactivism have in common: an agency-first approach to understanding minds and brains.
What if Hegel were a neuroscientist?
Andrea Gambarotto shares what Hegel and enactivism have in common: an agency-first approach to understanding minds and brains.
By
Paul Middlebrooks
16 September 2026 | 1 min read