About Me
I am a freelance science journalist. I come from an Anglo-German family and was mostly brought up in a small village in Norfolk in the UK, although am now based in Berlin. Before starting my career in journalism, I completed a BSc in Genetics and an MSc in Human Behaviour and Evolution in the UK and also spent some time working in a lab at the Wellcome Sanger Institute near Cambridge. While finishing my master’s degree I realised I did not want to become a professional scientist, but instead use my writing and communication skills to move into science journalism.
Prior to going freelance in 2020, I was editor-in-chief at Labiotech, an English-language, digital publication based in Berlin focusing on the European biotech industry. Before moving to Germany, I worked at a range of different science and health-focused publications in London. I was editor of The Biochemist magazine and blog, but also worked as a senior reporter at Springer Nature’s medwireNews for several years.
I have been published online and in print for a variety of international publications including New Scientist, Chemistry World, Biodesigned, The BMJ, Nature, Forbes, Science Business, BioPharma Reporter, Outsourcing Pharma, BioWorld, Inside Precision Medicine, Cosmos and GEN.
The majority of my work is in journalism, but I also occasionally teach science communication, moderate at conferences and carry out communications consultancy work for companies and non-profit organizations. I can be reached for news tips or work enquiries at scicom.hla[at]gmail.com or helen.l.albert[at]protonmail.com (secure email).
“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.”
Albert Einstein