Headshot of Jill Adams.

Jill Adams

Contributing writer

Jill U. Adams is a freelance science journalist based in Albany, New York. She covers health, mental health and biomedical research for such publications as The Transmitter, The Washington Post, Scientific American, Undark and The Scientist. She has a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

From this contributor

Illustration of an open journal featuring lines of text and small illustrations of eyes and mouths.
Spectrum

Key role of interferon 1 in maternal immune activation, and more

By Jill Adams
9 June 2026 | 2 min read
Research image of human thalamus.
Spectrum

Autism-linked genes expressed in thalamus make an impact, and more

By Jill Adams
2 June 2026 | 2 min read
Research image of genetic models.
Spectrum

SHANK3-variant effects in primates, and more

By Jill Adams
26 May 2026 | 2 min read
Research image showing brain volume changes in mice
Spectrum

Outside influences on CHD8 variant phenotypes, and more

By Jill Adams
19 May 2026 | 2 min read
Research image showing brain activity related to sensory sensitivity and hypoconnectivity.
Spectrum

Untangling genetic effects, and more

By Jill Adams
12 May 2026 | 2 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Map of socioeconomic opportunity in the United States next to visualizations of functional connectivity and structure in sensory and motor cortices.
Brain imaging

IQ’s link to brain structure, function in children may be a mirage

A child’s socioeconomic status, screen time and amount of sleep all show stronger associations with measures of brain structure and function, according to an imaging study of nearly 12,000 9- to 10-year-olds.

By Natalia Mesa
11 June 2026 | 5 min read
Photo collage of Tempest McDonald.
When autistic kids grow up Microphone

When autistic kids grow up, Chapter 2: “You need to go to college”

With just a high school equivalency degree and struggling as a single mother, Tempest McDonald is forced to shift her priorities.

By Brady Huggett
11 June 2026 | 28 min listen
Research image of X-linked RNAs in male mice.
Spectrum

Noncoding RNA sways core autism traits in mice

Small deletions in an X-linked RNA alter social and repetitive behaviors in male mice without broadly affecting learning or memory.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
11 June 2026 | 4 min read