Torie Bosch
@thekibosch.bsky.social
Opinion editor at STAT. Send your conversation-starting medicine/life sciences opinion pieces my way! https://www.statnews.com/first-opinion-submission
This week on the @statnews.com First Opinion Newsletter, I wrote about how my submission inbox is like a buffet and sometimes there's way more good food than I can eat: www.statnews.com/signup/first...
Sign up for First Opinion — STAT
The smartest thinkers in life sciences on what's happening — and what's to come.
www.statnews.com
February 2, 2026 at 2:36 PM
This week on the @statnews.com First Opinion Newsletter, I wrote about how my submission inbox is like a buffet and sometimes there's way more good food than I can eat: www.statnews.com/signup/first...
Reposted by Torie Bosch
The federal dietary guidelines aren’t just about macronutrients.
They’re also about whose food counts as “real”.
I wrote about that tension here for @statnews.com. Thank you @thekibosch.bsky.social for publishing!
www.statnews.com/2026/01/30/n...
They’re also about whose food counts as “real”.
I wrote about that tension here for @statnews.com. Thank you @thekibosch.bsky.social for publishing!
www.statnews.com/2026/01/30/n...
The food nationalism of the new dietary guidelines
The new food pyramid quietly reasserts what kinds of food count as real.
www.statnews.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:38 PM
The federal dietary guidelines aren’t just about macronutrients.
They’re also about whose food counts as “real”.
I wrote about that tension here for @statnews.com. Thank you @thekibosch.bsky.social for publishing!
www.statnews.com/2026/01/30/n...
They’re also about whose food counts as “real”.
I wrote about that tension here for @statnews.com. Thank you @thekibosch.bsky.social for publishing!
www.statnews.com/2026/01/30/n...
Putting out a periodic call: I really want to publish pieces about the veterinary pharmaceutical biz on STAT's opinion section. If you have ideas, reach out: first.opinion@statnews.com
January 29, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Putting out a periodic call: I really want to publish pieces about the veterinary pharmaceutical biz on STAT's opinion section. If you have ideas, reach out: first.opinion@statnews.com
I recently ended up in a corner of TikTok about people addicted to a certain gas station drug. This video explained so much about what was happening there.
You can buy a whole host of sketchy drugs at many gas stations. I wondered why gas stations, of all places, were the premier destination for people seeking quasi-legal recreational (or knockoff pharmaceutical) drugs. I dig into why in this week's @statnews.com STATus Report. youtu.be/4QsVjgIWVZs
January 28, 2026 at 2:56 PM
I recently ended up in a corner of TikTok about people addicted to a certain gas station drug. This video explained so much about what was happening there.
“I wish we could have spared him from seeing that": Bill Foege helped eradicate smallpox, inspired generations of public health leaders--and watched the rise of the anti-vaccination movement. @helenbranswell.bsky.social wrote a moving remembrance www.statnews.com/2026/01/25/w...
Public health giant William Foege, who helped eradicate smallpox, has died at 89
‘I wish we could have spared him from seeing that’: Friends of Bill Foege on his legacy, and his anger over anti-vaccination.
www.statnews.com
January 25, 2026 at 8:33 PM
“I wish we could have spared him from seeing that": Bill Foege helped eradicate smallpox, inspired generations of public health leaders--and watched the rise of the anti-vaccination movement. @helenbranswell.bsky.social wrote a moving remembrance www.statnews.com/2026/01/25/w...
A thing I actually have to say repeatedly, every night: no dancing in the bathtub.
January 20, 2026 at 12:52 AM
A thing I actually have to say repeatedly, every night: no dancing in the bathtub.
Reposted by Torie Bosch
#Breaking: The number of recommended childhood shots drops from 17 to 11. www.statnews.com/2026/01/05/c...
Federal health officials slash recommended childhood vaccinations under Trump’s directive
The number of recommended childhood shots drops from 17 to 11.
www.statnews.com
January 5, 2026 at 7:18 PM
#Breaking: The number of recommended childhood shots drops from 17 to 11. www.statnews.com/2026/01/05/c...
Reposted by Torie Bosch
If you're a first-year biomedical Ph.D. student, I'd like to hear how your first few months of grad school have been going. I'm a science journalist at @statnews.com and got my Ph.D. in immunology before going into journalism. You can reach me at jonathan.wosen@statnews.com. #journorequest
December 30, 2025 at 8:06 PM
If you're a first-year biomedical Ph.D. student, I'd like to hear how your first few months of grad school have been going. I'm a science journalist at @statnews.com and got my Ph.D. in immunology before going into journalism. You can reach me at jonathan.wosen@statnews.com. #journorequest
Reposted by Torie Bosch
Adam Hayden, a patient advocate and the subject of an earlier profile in STAT, has died at age 43.
www.statnews.com/2025/12/22/a...
www.statnews.com/2025/12/22/a...
An advocate who offered a window on the experience of living with brain cancer dies at 43
Adam Hayden, a patient advocate and the subject of an earlier profile in STAT, has died at age 43.
www.statnews.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Adam Hayden, a patient advocate and the subject of an earlier profile in STAT, has died at age 43.
www.statnews.com/2025/12/22/a...
www.statnews.com/2025/12/22/a...
My 12-year-old niece just texted me out of the blue to ask me about the Backstreet Boys fan fiction I wrote when I was 14-16. Naturally I now a) have to go lie down and b) strongly believe no one should have a phone until they are 25.
Oh and c) my brother/her father continues to ruin my life
Oh and c) my brother/her father continues to ruin my life
December 22, 2025 at 8:41 PM
My 12-year-old niece just texted me out of the blue to ask me about the Backstreet Boys fan fiction I wrote when I was 14-16. Naturally I now a) have to go lie down and b) strongly believe no one should have a phone until they are 25.
Oh and c) my brother/her father continues to ruin my life
Oh and c) my brother/her father continues to ruin my life
Comms people, I'm begging you, skip the well-intentioned generic holiday e-cards. They just clog up my inbox.
December 18, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Comms people, I'm begging you, skip the well-intentioned generic holiday e-cards. They just clog up my inbox.
Science is like "glimpsing God's mind": On the last episode of this season of the First Opinion Podcast, I talked to former NIH Director Francis Collins and Fox News' Marc Siegel, author of the new book The Miracles Among Us, about faith, medicine, and science: www.statnews.com/2025/12/17/f...
Francis Collins and Marc Siegel say medicine is a gift from God
“To have Christians be the group that was most resistant” to the Covid vaccine “really seems wrong here,” said former NIH Director Francis Collins.
www.statnews.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Science is like "glimpsing God's mind": On the last episode of this season of the First Opinion Podcast, I talked to former NIH Director Francis Collins and Fox News' Marc Siegel, author of the new book The Miracles Among Us, about faith, medicine, and science: www.statnews.com/2025/12/17/f...
Never thought I'd say this, but: I miss work holiday parties.
December 16, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Never thought I'd say this, but: I miss work holiday parties.
It's that time of year! Writers, I'm begging you: If the submission isn't super time-sensitive/news-related, consider holding it until the new year.
December 2, 2025 at 4:57 PM
It's that time of year! Writers, I'm begging you: If the submission isn't super time-sensitive/news-related, consider holding it until the new year.
Reposted by Torie Bosch
Gilead’s trial participants outside the U.S. deserve more than to be studied. They deserve access to the drugs they helped make possible!
In my first @statnews.com piece, I call for global equity regarding lenacapavir. Thanks @thekibosch.bsky.social for holding my story with care 🫶🏾
#IDSky
In my first @statnews.com piece, I call for global equity regarding lenacapavir. Thanks @thekibosch.bsky.social for holding my story with care 🫶🏾
#IDSky
Could an HIV miracle drug actually reach people like my parents?
Can an HIV miracle drug actually reach people like my parents?
www.statnews.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Gilead’s trial participants outside the U.S. deserve more than to be studied. They deserve access to the drugs they helped make possible!
In my first @statnews.com piece, I call for global equity regarding lenacapavir. Thanks @thekibosch.bsky.social for holding my story with care 🫶🏾
#IDSky
In my first @statnews.com piece, I call for global equity regarding lenacapavir. Thanks @thekibosch.bsky.social for holding my story with care 🫶🏾
#IDSky
Reposted by Torie Bosch
Access to vaccines is not a privilege — it is a human right.
In @statnews.com today, Stefan Peterson and I write about using a human rights-based approach to deal with vaccine denialism and the return of measles, whooping cough and diphtheria
www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/c...
In @statnews.com today, Stefan Peterson and I write about using a human rights-based approach to deal with vaccine denialism and the return of measles, whooping cough and diphtheria
www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/c...
Kids have a right to vaccinations. Let's bring in the lawyers
Children suffering from diseases that should have been consigned to history is a moral failure. Access to vaccines is a human right.
www.statnews.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Access to vaccines is not a privilege — it is a human right.
In @statnews.com today, Stefan Peterson and I write about using a human rights-based approach to deal with vaccine denialism and the return of measles, whooping cough and diphtheria
www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/c...
In @statnews.com today, Stefan Peterson and I write about using a human rights-based approach to deal with vaccine denialism and the return of measles, whooping cough and diphtheria
www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/c...
“Remarkable man, a genius, a true genius, a giant — and with flaws that we can’t understand": I spoke with Nancy Hopkins about James Watson, the friend who urged her to get a Ph.D. in the 60s--but took a very troubling turn in the last 20 years of his life: www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/j...
James Watson’s lifelong friend and protégé on his complicated legacy
“I can’t make sense of it”: Nancy Hopkins remembers who James Watson was — and who he became.
www.statnews.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:34 PM
“Remarkable man, a genius, a true genius, a giant — and with flaws that we can’t understand": I spoke with Nancy Hopkins about James Watson, the friend who urged her to get a Ph.D. in the 60s--but took a very troubling turn in the last 20 years of his life: www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/j...
Reposted by Torie Bosch
I'm a very pro-vaccine physician.
Last weekend, I went to the biggest gathering of anti-vaxxers.
More of my public health colleagues should've been there.
I explain why for @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/c...
Last weekend, I went to the biggest gathering of anti-vaxxers.
More of my public health colleagues should've been there.
I explain why for @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/c...
I’m a physician who went to the anti-vaccine movement’s biggest gathering. More of my colleagues should too
A pro-vaccine physician went to the anti-vaccine movement’s biggest gathering. He warns that public health must learn what it’s up against.
www.statnews.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:43 PM
I'm a very pro-vaccine physician.
Last weekend, I went to the biggest gathering of anti-vaxxers.
More of my public health colleagues should've been there.
I explain why for @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/c...
Last weekend, I went to the biggest gathering of anti-vaxxers.
More of my public health colleagues should've been there.
I explain why for @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/c...
Reposted by Torie Bosch
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
I'm thinking about getting my 1-year-old a Ms. Rachel doll for Christmas and asked the Amazon AI what songs it sings. How amazing would this be?
November 5, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I'm thinking about getting my 1-year-old a Ms. Rachel doll for Christmas and asked the Amazon AI what songs it sings. How amazing would this be?
Reposted by Torie Bosch
Many physicians hadn’t seen #measles for years, now we’re seeing outbreaks again.’ @drsethberkley.bsky.social on @statnews.com pod with @thekibosch.bsky.social discussing how complacency and social media fuel vaccine hesitancy.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/s...
www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/s...
A global health expert on Covid’s lessons — and warnings — for the future
“It is evolutionarily certain that we will have more outbreaks, more pandemics, and frankly, they could be significantly worse than Covid,” says global health expert Seth Berkley.
www.statnews.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Many physicians hadn’t seen #measles for years, now we’re seeing outbreaks again.’ @drsethberkley.bsky.social on @statnews.com pod with @thekibosch.bsky.social discussing how complacency and social media fuel vaccine hesitancy.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/s...
www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/s...
FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f... from @lizzylawrence.bsky.social and @adamfeuerstein.bsky.social
FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation
George Tidmarsh, the FDA's top drug regulator, has been placed on leave after being accused of abusing his regulatory authority, STAT has learned.
www.statnews.com
November 2, 2025 at 9:57 PM
FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f... from @lizzylawrence.bsky.social and @adamfeuerstein.bsky.social
On the @statnews.com First Opinion Podcast today, I spoke with Dr. Richard Besser, president of RWJF and former acting director of the CDC, about the "heartbreaking" CDC situation, anger at public health, and the necessity of engaging with people you disagree with. www.statnews.com/2025/10/15/r...
Former acting CDC director on public health changes: ‘absolutely heartbreaking’
“I used to think that I couldn’t be surprised,” says RWJF’s Richard Besser. But this HHS constantly alarms him.
www.statnews.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:40 PM
On the @statnews.com First Opinion Podcast today, I spoke with Dr. Richard Besser, president of RWJF and former acting director of the CDC, about the "heartbreaking" CDC situation, anger at public health, and the necessity of engaging with people you disagree with. www.statnews.com/2025/10/15/r...
This might be my proudest professional accomplishment
In this week's #FreeFictionFriday feature, "Bigfeet" by @thekibosch.bsky.social , a group of scientists successfully brings an extinct species back from the dead: the elusive Bigfoot. The main problem? It never actually existed in the first place!
🔗 slate.com/technology/2...
🔗 slate.com/technology/2...
October 10, 2025 at 4:08 PM
This might be my proudest professional accomplishment
We've updated the opinion submissiong uidelines on @statnews.com to give some more granular information about what we're looking for. You can find them here: www.statnews.com/first-opinio...
Guidelines for writing and submitting essays to First Opinion
First Opinion, STAT’s platform for opinion and first-person essays, welcomes submissions about topics related to the life sciences, including policy,
www.statnews.com
October 10, 2025 at 2:51 PM
We've updated the opinion submissiong uidelines on @statnews.com to give some more granular information about what we're looking for. You can find them here: www.statnews.com/first-opinio...