Kelli Whitlock Burton

Waldoboro, ME USA
Website: www.kelliwburton.com
Contact

Professional Experience

A science and medical writer for more than 25 years, I have covered everything from the genetics of breast cancer in African Americans to the discovery of new dinosaurs species. I have written for newspapers, Internet and magazines, completing stories varying in length from 250 words to 5,000 words. I also am a freelance editor, editing technical manuscripts as well as general interest magazines.

Expertise

Editor
20 Years
Reporter
25 Years
Writer
25 Years

Specialty

Environment & Nature
19 Years
Science
19 Years
Medicine
25 Years

Industries


Magazine - Large Consumer/National magazines
9 Years
Newspaper - National
12 Years
Other
20 Years

Total Media Industry Experience

25 Years

Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

Science Now! (10+), Boston Globe (10+), American Archaeology Magazine (1-2), Science magazine (10+)

Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

Ohio University (10+), Kenyon College (10+), inVentiv Communications (6-10), Ohio State University (3-5), University of Georgia (3-5), Univesity of Chicago School of Medicine (3-5), Denison University (3-5), Harvard University Medical School (3-5), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1-2), Sarah Lawrence College (1-2), Nationwide Children's Hospital (10+)

Other Work History

Staff Writer, The Tuscaloosa News, Alabama, 1990-1994 Associate Editor, Ohio State University, 1994-1996 Editor and Science Writer, Ohio University, 1996-2003 Editor and Science Writer, Whitehead Institute/Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003-2004 Senior science writer/editor, Nationwide Children's Hospital, 2013-2014 Freelance science writer, 2004-present

Computer Skills

Word, Excel, WordPress, Publisher

Equipment

Laptop, Desktop, 35MM Nikon 8008, digital voice recorder, digital camera (5 megapixel)

References

David Grimm, ScienceNow!, dgrimm@aaas.org Jeffrey Mervis, Science, jmervis@aaas.org Gideon Gill, Boston Globe, ggill@globe.com Jeff Grabmeier, The Ohio State University, grabmeier.1@osu.edu

Awards

Nine national medals for excellence in writing and magazine editing from Council for Advancement and Support of Education New York Times Chairman's Award Three statewide AP awards for reporting Four Baptist Medical Center awards for health reporting Clarion Award for feature writing, Association for Women in Communications

Associations

National Association of Science Writers

Showcase

Writing Samples

Using a deceptively simple two-step process, scientists have successfully frozen fruit flies at below-zero temperatures without killing them.
Efforts to eliminate preventable harm in pediatric care are making progress. But can we make it to zero?
Study suggests life experiences determine our opinions on facial attractiveness
Efforts to eliminate preventable harm in pediatric care are making progress. But can we make it to zero?
People fight because of how they feel—whether angry, afraid, or threatened. Leah Olson and Elizabeth Johnson teach an interdisciplinary class on human feelings. Can understanding what’s happening in our brains help us control destructive emotions?
Fifteen years ago, gene therapy suffered a highly visible fatality, leaving the field in shambles. Now, one team’s efforts at gene therapy for muscular dystrophy suggest the field may finally be on track to deliver on its initial promise.
New study uses smartphone app to help people lose weight
Mammograms in most women under 40 may cause more harm than good, according to new research.
The placement of a joint headquarters of Sanofi-Aventis SA’s new cancer research unit in Cambridge, announced last month, marks a turning point for the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical company.
Scientists have discovered a small molecule that helps human cells get rid of the misfolded, disfigured proteins implicated in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative ailments.
Efforts to prevent childhood obesity should begin far earlier than currently thought — perhaps even before birth — especially for minority children, according to a new study that tracked 1,826 women from pregnancy through their children’s first five years of life.
When the Canadian government created a $200 million pot to attract up to 20 of the world's best researchers in four target areas, university administrators had no trouble finding 36 stars that they wanted to hire. Diversity was another matter, however.
More than 80% of plant species make friends with a common fungus. In return for sugar, the fungus helps the plants extract nutrients from the soil. But rice plants, a primary food source for billions of people, don’t have this special relationship—and thus they don’t receive the extra boost the fungi give other plants. A new study suggests that with a little help from researchers, however, the fungus will bond with rice, increasing the plant's growth rate by up to five times.
The Shakers are one of America’s best-known utopian societies. An investigation of Pleasant Hill, one of their former communities in Kentucky, reveals how their emphasis on order, work, and religious devotion, and their penchant for innovations, were an attempt at perfecting their lives.

Editing samples

HHMi announced the first-time recipients of a new award for emerging scientists. My job was to edit the bios written by freelancers. I edited a total of six bios.
Contributing editor for Random Samples department in Science magazine. Responsible for building story budget, assigning and editing stories, obtaining art, page design approval and page proof review.
Contributing editor for Random Samples department in Science magazine. Responsible for building story budget, assigning and editing stories, obtaining art, page design approval and page proof review.
Contributing editor for Random Samples department. Responsible for building story budget, assigning and editing stories, securing art work, page design approval, and page proof review.