About Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD
 In 2015, Michaeleen started her most challenging career: being a mom. This job began on shaky ground. She struggled, immensely, and felt like she was a terrible mom. Then, while reporting for NPR, she learned an ancient way of raising children that’s based on cooperativity instead of control and confidence instead of fear.
Now being a mom is her favorite career and helps her be a better writer and journalist. (You can learn this way of parenting, too.)
Accomplished Scientist & Dogged Journalist
After obtaining a PhD in physical chemistry, Michaeleen spent a decade working in the lab. While pursuing a fellowship at NIH, she began writing for health magazines. Quickly, all she wanted to do was write … and not work in the lab!
So in 2012, Michaeleen became a reporter and editor for NPR’s Science Desk. She has reported for NPR from three continents.
She covered the Ebola outbreak on the ground in Liberia. She watched scientists dig up ancient pathogens from melting permafrost above the Arctic Circle. And, back in 2018, she stood in a bat cave in Borneo, Malaysia, while scientists warned about the possibility of a devastating coronavirus outbreak.
Academic Background
- PhD in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley (2007)
- Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Caltech (1998)
- Master’s Degree in Horticulture from the University of California, Davis (2002)
Her extensive education gives her an unique perspective as both a parenting expert and science journalist.
Journalistic Expertise
As a correspondent for NPR, Michaeleen has covered a wide-range of topics, including mental health, nutrition, psychology and neuroscience. In 2015, Michaeleen was part of the NPR team that won the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for its coverage of the Ebola outbreak.
Her background allows her to detect flaws in both scientific research and media coverage of it. Besides reporting for NPR, she has also written for the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
Life & Family
Michaeleen lives in the far West Texas town of Alpine, Texas. She enjoys spending time with her family, her flock of approximately 15 chickens, and her German Shepherd, Savanna. She’s an intensive and aggressive gardener and proud to say that she grows almost all the vegetables that her family eats from spring until winter.
