Francisco J. Rivera Rosario edits scientist-written essays and develops new resources for the community. He also manages the ‘This paper changed my life’ series, acquires book excerpts and writes The Transmitter Launch, a monthly newsletter for early-career researchers. Before joining The Transmitter, he spent his career in science communications and health writing, including time working as an editor for a science communications agency and freelancing for TED Conferences and Health. Prior to moving into science communication, Francisco worked in a research lab, studying the genetic basis of rare forms of autism.
Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
Associate editor, opinion and community
The Transmitter
From this contributor
David Sussillo on persistence, luck and the bonds between life and work
By
Francisco J. Rivera Rosario, David Sussillo
17 March 2026 | 7 min watch
The Transmitter ’s Rising Stars of Neuroscience 2025
By
Francisco J. Rivera Rosario, Lauren Schneider
15 November 2025 | 23 min read
The Transmitter’s New Lab Directory
By
Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
15 November 2025 | 21 min read
The buzziest neuroscience papers of 2023, 2024
By
Calli McMurray, Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
15 November 2025 | 18 min read
One year of FlyWire: How the resource is redefining Drosophila research
By
Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
7 October 2025 | 17 min read
Education
- M.S. in biomedical sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- M.S. in molecular biotechnology, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico
- B.S. in natural sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Cayey
Explore more from The Transmitter
Autism-linked genes alter sleep behavior, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 13 April.
Autism-linked genes alter sleep behavior, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 13 April.
By
Jill Adams
14 April 2026 | 2 min read
This paper changed my life: Erin Calipari ponders the nuances of rewarding and aversive stimuli
A 1960s study by Kelleher and Morse found that lever pressing in squirrel monkeys depended not on whether they received a reward or shock, but on the rules of the task. This taught Calipari to think deeply about factors that influence how behavior is generated and maintained.
This paper changed my life: Erin Calipari ponders the nuances of rewarding and aversive stimuli
A 1960s study by Kelleher and Morse found that lever pressing in squirrel monkeys depended not on whether they received a reward or shock, but on the rules of the task. This taught Calipari to think deeply about factors that influence how behavior is generated and maintained.
By
Erin Calipari
14 April 2026 | 5 min read
Why neural foundation models work, and what they might—and might not—teach us about the brain
These models can partly generalize across species, brain regions and tasks, suggesting that a set of machine-learnable rules govern neural population activity. But will we be able to understand them?
Why neural foundation models work, and what they might—and might not—teach us about the brain
These models can partly generalize across species, brain regions and tasks, suggesting that a set of machine-learnable rules govern neural population activity. But will we be able to understand them?
By
Juan Gallego
13 April 2026 | 8 min read