How Dr. Yalda Afshar became a trusted COVID spokesperson

When COVID-19 started to spread around the globe in 2020 along with the rampant rise in misinformation about the disease, Dr. Yalda Afshar knew just what to do — deliver the facts to the news media.A former reporter herself, the UCLA Health physician-scientist felt it was her duty to set the record straight about the disease ’s origins and treatments. That’s how Afshar, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the maternal fetal medicine division, emerged as a go-to expert about COVID-19 and pregnancy for news reporters.“I believe journalism is paramount to education, community empowerment and the dissemination of science,” Afshar said. While she has published more than 80 academic papers, she says speaking to the news media is also an important step in getting scientific-based information out to the public. A reporter in her past lifeAfshar ’s interest in news goes back years before the pandemic. As a reporter for her high school and college newspapers, she was drawn to the deadlines, diversity of work and collaboration of the newsroom. Afshar even considered becoming a health and science reporter herself. “I thought I would have loved to be a science writer at ‘Vogue’ at one point,” she said.Working in the newsroom gave her a deep appreciation and respect for reporters working to provide accurate information to the public.“Science writers are incredible because they have expertise in journalism and expertise in understanding science...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news