What is this newsletter about?
This is a newsletter is about science, global health and medical innovation. I write about new research, long-term progress, unsolved problems and how we can make progress against them.
Why am I writing this?
Science helps us make sense of the world around us, and scientific knowledge has helped people make the world a better place. But lots of great research gets overshadowed by flashy headlines that are poorly supported, which makes it hard for people to know what to believe. I’m hoping to help address that.
I care a lot about research integrity, so I try to avoid errors, focus on high quality studies and explain why I find them credible, and tend to focus on fields I’m most familiar with (such as health, epidemiology, genetics, psychiatry and medicine).
These are aims, not a guarantee. Even though I recheck my posts and ask others to review them, sometimes mistakes slip through – if you find any, let me know. I offer rewards for catching errors in my work, as I’ve described below.
Data and code for my charts
I often produce my own charts for this blog. You can find the data and code for them in my GitHub repository via code.scientificdiscovery.dev (or click the ‘Code’ tab at the top of this blog). Feel free to reuse, adapt, or just explore it.
If you spot any errors, have questions or comments on how to improve the repository, let me know!
Earn a reward by pointing out an error I’ve made
If you spot any errors or mistakes I’ve made, please let me know.
For now, I’ve set aside a pot of up to £300 for rewards for people who catch errors in my work. This includes my writing in this newsletter, and also other formally published work, published in 2023 or later. If/when this runs out, I’ll re-evaluate or top-up the pot. This system may change in the future.
I’ve set this up because I don’t want to misinform people, I find mistakes annoying, and want a routine procedure to deal with them, and I learn something new when I’m corrected. This reward system was inspired by my friend Ruben.
You can earn a reward for catching different kinds of mistakes: for example, errors that change the interpretation of a claim, bugs in my code, or even if you point out that I’ve used poor sourcing without mentioning caveats.
I’ll offer £5 (for a minor error), £15 (moderate error), or £40 (major error). It’s difficult to define in advance what counts as each, but I’ll try to be fair.
For very minor errors (e.g. typos, grammatical errors), you will earn my personal gratitude.
If you point out an error but don’t want to receive a reward, I’ll instead donate the amount to a cause listed at the end of this page.
A little about me
I'm a co-founder and editor at Works in Progress magazine, where I commission articles on science and global health, oversee data visualization, and write articles. I co-host a podcast about medical innovation called Hard Drugs with Jacob Trefethen. I’m also an advisor at Coefficient Giving on grantmaking for clinical trial reform (get in touch if you have ideas!) And I’m a visiting research fellow at the University of Bern, where I occasionally give talks.
Previously, I was a researcher on global health at Our World in Data; you can find my writing from that time here.
My background is a mix of biomedical sciences, genetics, epidemiology and psychiatry. In 2023, I completed a PhD at the University of Hong Kong and King’s College London, where my thesis focused on differences in study design and how they can influence results in the field of psychiatric genetics.
I live in London, and outside of work, I enjoy photography, birdwatching, long walks, museums, film noir, and eating gelato. And I’m currently learning German!
Contact me
Here are some ways to get in touch with me:
If you’re a subscriber, you can directly press reply to a Substack post you receive by email
You can email me at [email protected]
You can find me on Twitter at @salonium or on Bluesky at @scientificdiscovery.dev
I’m often on the lookout for new authors to publish at Works in Progress, and ideas for clinical trial reform to support with grants through Coefficient Giving.
Supporting me
This newsletter is supported by Works in Progress magazine. I have no plans to monetize this newsletter – it will remain free.
If you’d like to support causes I care about, I recommend donating to any of these:
GiveWell – which evaluates and funds charities that make a large difference to people’s lives, including providing malaria nets and treatment, vitamin A supplements, and more.
Project Resource Optimization – which curates a live list of highly impactful and cost-effective programs that the US funded until USAID was paused and later shut down.
Evidence Action – which provides clean water dispensers that prevent diarrheal diseases and reduce infant deaths, and treatment for debilitating parasitic worm infections.
Your local blood drive (UK, US) – blood is vital to many patients, has a short shelf-life and is often in need.
Ukraine – to support their medical supplies, defence and efforts to rebuild.
And of course, you can also support me by sharing this newsletter with your friends.
The cover illustration and logo of this newsletter were designed by Tiphaine Poli.
