Christine Herman


Side effects public media

Christine Herman is a Ph.D. chemist turned audio journalist. Her reporting has received awards from the Illinois Associated Press Broadcasters Association and has aired on national programs including All Things Considered and Here & Now. Christine is a mother of three and aspiring aerial artist. She’s a recipient of the 2018-2019 Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism and has been working at Illinois Public Media since 2015.

From this contributor

Explore more from The Transmitter

Finding the Rett syndrome gene and ways to fix it

Kevin Mitchell talks with Huda Zoghbi about her work identifying the MECP2 gene, its role in the brain and therapies to address its dysfunction.

By Kevin Mitchell
21 September 2026 | 67 min watch
Hand holding a vial of microplastics.

Measuring plastic in the brain: Improving, but incomplete

Meanwhile, researchers are publishing papers without “sufficient quality control,” says analytical chemist Dušan Materić.

By Amber Dance
18 September 2026 | 9 min read
Calendar with deadline.

Incredible shrinking grant deadlines at the BRAIN Initiative

“A month is crazy,” says one former recipient, referring to a new funding opportunity’s timeline.

By Brendan Borrell
17 September 2026 | 4 min read