Shaena Montanari was a reporter for The Transmitter from 2023 to 2025. She was previously an investigative health reporter at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting in Phoenix. Prior to becoming a journalist, Shaena worked as a paleontologist.

Education

  • M.A. in investigative journalism, Arizona State University
  • Ph.D. in comparative biology, Richard Gilder Graduate School at the American Museum of Natural History
  • B.S. in geological sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Fellowships

  • AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship
  • AAAS Mass Media Fellowship
  • Royal Society Newton International Fellowship

Explore more from The Transmitter

Signs of aging vary across brain cells

Senescence presents differently depending on the cell type, toxic trigger and neighboring cells, two new studies find.

By Claudia López Lloreda
18 March 2026 | 4 min read
A computer cursor hovers over distorted data.

Neuroscientists challenge NIH’s proposed human-data access policy

The changes would restrict the sharing of human neuroimaging, transcriptomic and genetic data.

By Claudia López Lloreda
17 March 2026 | 5 min read

David Sussillo on persistence, luck and the bonds between life and work

In a Q&A about his new book, “Emergence,” Sussillo shares why he wrote it and how challenging circumstances shaped his journey into neuroscience.

By Francisco J. Rivera Rosario, David Sussillo
17 March 2026 | 7 min watch