Ulli Hain

Ulli Hain

Freelance Science Writer & Editor


I've been a senior science writer at Palladian Partners for about 5 years. Through this work I write features, write and edit plain language health information, and write technical pieces such as literature reviews for the NIH and other government agencies. I also enjoy writing blog articles and creative nonfiction in my spare time.

I received a PhD in molecular biology from Johns Hopkins in 2014. Since then, I pivoted to science writing for the general public, patients, and policymakers/advocates. I love writing about a range of science topics and issues related to science, including ethics and health disparities.

NIMHD •

Barbershops Bring Health Services to African American Men

As a young kid training to be an amateur boxer, Michael Brown wanted to look good. His father grew tired of Michael asking for money for haircuts, eventually buying him a pair of scissors and clippers. The first time did not go so well, but he just kept going and going until he got better. By the time Mr. Brown finished high school, he had a passion for cutting hair. Now he is a barber at a shop on a busy road in Hyattsville, Maryland, with a roster of loyal customers. “You’re not just a barber. You’re a fashion consultant, you’re a marriage counselor, and any number of things,” says Mr. Brown.
NIMHD •

Sharing Messages of Health in the Crow Nation to Fight Chronic Disease

When her young daughter died of the rare cancer neuroblastoma, Alma McCormick, M.A., wanted to channel her pain and experience toward helping others. She started working with a small project, encouraging other women in the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation to get screened for cancer. Through this work, she met Suzanne Held, Ph.D., a researcher from Montana State University. That meeting in 1996 sparked a longstanding comm
NIH COVID-19 Research •

COVID-19 Vaccine Development: Behind the Scenes

What you need to know Developing a vaccine and bringing it to market often takes many years. But because of work that NIH was already doing when the COVID-19 pandemic began, researchers were able to come up with vaccines for this new virus much faster. What did this research do? There are many different coronaviruses. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is just one; others can cause illnesses like the common cold. Years before the COVID-19 pandemic began, experts at the NIH Vaccine R