Theres Luethi, PhD
Freelance science journalist & medical journalist
I am an award-winning bilingual (E/D) medical journalist with over 25 years of professional experience. After completing my PhD in neuroscience, I left academia to become a science journalist. I spent most of my career to date as science editor/journalist at the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (“NZZ” and “NZZ am Sonntag”), one of the leading newspapers based in Zurich, Switzerland. In 2024, following a fellowship in London, I decided to go freelance.
I started out as a general biomedical reporter, but over the years I have narrowed down the range of topics I cover. I now mainly write about neuroscience, particularly Alzheimer’s and dementia research, mental illness, infectious disease, including Covid and Long Covid, and cancer. In my view these are fascinating areas, also because they are interwoven with important societal issues. I am interested in how social, economic and environmental factors impact human health.
I was born in Zurich (Switzerland), grew up in New Jersey (USA) and Frankfurt (Germany), and studied in Switzerland and the USA. Having lived in different countries and communities, I was taught early on to look at things from multiple perspectives, which I believe has helped me in my work as a journalist.
Education
- PhD in Neurobiology
Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland - MA in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting
New York University, USA
Awards and Honors
- Landis & Gyr Fellowship London, 2024
- «Prix-Media» for «Skalpell & Wahn», 2022
- «Swiss Press Award» in the category audio «Skalpell & Wahn», 2022
- «Prix-Excellence», Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences, 2008
