Lifelong Love of Animals and Writing Leads to Fellowship

Published March 24, 2025

Pittsburg, Ca. native and current Johns Hopkins University MA in Science Writing program student Katherine Greene remembers vividly being on all fours in a lab in the UC-Davis Psychology Department’s vivarium at her alma mater attempting to corner an escaped short-tailed Brazilian possum. The assignment that day was just one of many challenges that the animal science graduate (literally) tackled during her eight-year stint working with lab animals – everything from mice, rats, and prairie voles to rabbits, barn owls, and monkeys.

“I have had some really fun experiences working in animal care for research and diagnostic labs. It was my job to make sure the animals were alive, fed and watered, and maintained until they were sent off for research,” said Greene who has worked as a research technician, colony manager, and lab assistant. Her work has exposed her to a vast array of eye-opening research – cancer and diabetes advances and toxicity, bariatric, and brain studies. “It was a very nuanced career because people who are taking care of lab animals are the eyes on the ground who are making sure that animal welfare is being accounted for. They are making sure that humans are following the rules and regulations. This was the main source of motivation for me, especially given that we are using the animals for biomedical research.”

An admittedly empathetic animal lover, Greene also has always had a love of writing, and when deciding on a graduate degree program, she found the perfect fit in the Johns Hopkins Science Writing program, where she is now marrying her love of science with a talent for writing. Her enrollment decision recently received validation in the form of a selection, by a committee of professional writers and scientists, as one of four recipients of a $5,000 fellowship through the JHU program. The funding, in partnership with the Good Science Project, will support the development of feature stories that examine where science goes wrong and how it can be made better.

“I thought that moving toward science writing might be an interesting pivot,” said Greene, now a necropsy technician in veterinary pathology at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab where she performs autopsies on animals to protect the health of California’s agriculture. “When I was younger, I would get over my shyness by asking people, ‘What are you doing? ‘Why do you care? ‘Why should I care?’ and ‘What’s the bigger picture?’ I realized that I had already been unofficially interviewing people for the last 10 years. Having an audience to share cool stuff with really appealed to me. There are so many fascinating people who are doing things that you have never even heard of. To be able to get in, through science writing, to talk to them is such a gratifying experience. I have always loved to write, and I thought maybe now is the time that I can explore writing without being worried about a career path. Good writing needs to have a human element, which is why I think it is important to have writers who care about the world and the people they talk about and the topics they cover.”

Greene is embracing the writing opportunity in front of her and is leaning toward delivering an article on “p-hacking,” a sometimes-intentional manipulation of data to make results look statistically significant. The effects of p-hacking have been discussed in science circles for decades, and Greene hopes to focus her fellowship article on how to combat scientific skepticism and encourage honest science and the publication of evidence-based studies and even null results.

“I am hoping to contact people who know enough and care enough and who may have ideas on how the science community can address the ‘bad actors’ in the field,” Greene said. “Every profession has them, but I believe in science, and I believe in scientists.”

Greene also professes a strong belief in the JHU science writing program that has provided flexibility and the opportunity to engage with classmates from different careers, backgrounds, and walks of life. Most significantly, she feels fortunate and inspired because of the mentorship she has received from JHU’s engaged faculty.

“At Johns Hopkins, we have some truly accomplished and successful writers teaching these courses,” she said. “It is easy to lose track of the fact that you have people who have been published in major publications teaching you the art of science writing. I had Nancy Lord as a lecturer for several of my classes. She was honored as the Alaska Writer Laureate. What business do I have being taught by a state-recognized writer? It is so cool. With all my jobs and now, with this program, I have always had a sense of a greater purpose. The use of mice in research is necessary for humanity. You need to know what is wrong with a sick or dying animal to prevent other animals from succumbing to sickness and death. I am a small cog in a big wheel, and I have the privilege of working with world-class pathologists who are incredibly intelligent, educated, passionate, and driven.

“What I have learned from my program at Johns Hopkins is that the opportunity to explore and grow is there when you are ready to take it, “Greene continued. “For some of us, it was when we were 25 or 30 and for others, it is when they are 60, and anywhere in between. Education doesn’t stop when you are 23. It is here for the rest of us when we are ready for it. I am grateful for the opportunity in front of me and am hoping that it will help me get a foot in the door into this broad field of science writing. As an innately curious person, I am learning so much. I love accruing information, and I love sharing it with people.”