Stephen Riffle

Stephen started his career in science at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he majored in Pharmacology. In his spare time, Stephen worked in the lab of Dr. Les Wilson researching the effects of various chemotherapeutics on their target structures, known as microtubules.

Following his undergraduate work, Stephen spent four years in the lab of Dr. Rashmi Hegde. His work focused on the response of tumor cells to low oxygen concentrations when grown in 3D cultures. In addition to his lab work, Stephen also participated in science outreach events to local elementary schools and founded a student organization centered around science communication.

After completing his PhD, Stephen started work at Helix OpCo as a content intern. There, he wrote numerous articles for a general audience and was later hired full time as Content Associate. With topics ranging from human evolution to the sleeping habits of a platypus, Stephen was able to explore many different styles of writing with Helix.

In January of 2019, Stephen began work as a freelance science writer. Thus far he has articles published in the Material Research Society’s News Bulletin. His interests are wide ranging and best described as anything that allows him to tell a story with a scientific edge to it. Given his background in cancer biology, pharmacology, and genetics, his specialties involve any and all topics that intersect with these disciplines, though he is more than willing to branch out into other areas of science.

Ultimately, it’s all about story telling. Video, podcast, blog—it doesn’t matter. If it’s a story, Stephen wants to tell it.