Olivia Gieger is a science reporter and was The Transmitter’s news reporting intern in the summer of 2024. She is completing her M.A. in journalism in New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. There, she has covered emergency medicine, conservation ecology and climate attribution science. Her work has appeared in Inside Climate News, Forbes and Scienceline.
Olivia Gieger
Former news reporting intern
The Transmitter
From this contributor
How neuroscience comics add KA-POW! to the field: Q&A with Kanaka Rajan
The artistic approach can help explain complex ideas frame by frame without diluting the science, Rajan says.
How neuroscience comics add KA-POW! to the field: Q&A with Kanaka Rajan
By
Olivia Gieger
9 October 2024 | 7 min read
Seeing research through a new lens: Q&A with Pei Yuan Zhang
When she’s not in the lab, the cognitive scientist films documentaries that challenge her love of data and order.
Seeing research through a new lens: Q&A with Pei Yuan Zhang
By
Olivia Gieger
20 September 2024 | 7 min read
Ketamine targets lateral habenula, setting off cascade of antidepressant effects
The drug’s affinity for overactive cells in the “anti-reward” region may help explain its rapid and long-lasting results.
Ketamine targets lateral habenula, setting off cascade of antidepressant effects
By
Olivia Gieger
4 September 2024 | 6 min read
As circuits wire up, interneurons take cues from surrounding cells
The inhibitory cells’ development, diversity and abundance in the cortex is directed in part by pyramidal cells, a new preprint suggests.
As circuits wire up, interneurons take cues from surrounding cells
By
Olivia Gieger
14 August 2024 | 5 min read
Newly found circuit through visual cortex powers first look at faces
The superior colliculus, an evolutionarily ancient brain area responsible for eye movements, responds to faces before the canonical face areas do, a study of macaque monkeys suggests.
Newly found circuit through visual cortex powers first look at faces
By
Olivia Gieger
19 July 2024 | 5 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
Commentary: The rising absolute number of neuro-inspired AI papers represents a substantial footprint
Many of the design choices present in the current generation of artificial-intelligence tools parallel purported properties of the brain.
Commentary: The rising absolute number of neuro-inspired AI papers represents a substantial footprint
Many of the design choices present in the current generation of artificial-intelligence tools parallel purported properties of the brain.
By
Kim Stachenfeld
26 October 2026 | 2 min read
Examining the bridge between neuroscience and AI
A citation analysis reveals that the connection between the two fields is real and gaining momentum. But it’s also narrow and tool-heavy; we need to find ways to widen it.
Examining the bridge between neuroscience and AI
A citation analysis reveals that the connection between the two fields is real and gaining momentum. But it’s also narrow and tool-heavy; we need to find ways to widen it.
By
Renato Duarte
26 October 2026 | 12 min read
Remembering Barbara Finlay, ‘maverick’ of evolutionary neuroscience
Finlay, who died on 12 September, championed the idea that developmental constraints dictate how evolution sculpts brains, a concept she used to model the timing of hundreds of events and align them across mammalian species.
Remembering Barbara Finlay, ‘maverick’ of evolutionary neuroscience
Finlay, who died on 12 September, championed the idea that developmental constraints dictate how evolution sculpts brains, a concept she used to model the timing of hundreds of events and align them across mammalian species.
By
Calli McMurray
23 October 2026 | 8 min read