Elissa Ball is a former data analysis intern for Spectrum. Prior to coming here, she worked in the Yonkers Public Library and as a tutor for Kaplan Test Prep. She earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, with a minor in mechanical engineering, from the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.
Elissa Ball
From this contributor
Why autism training for police isn’t enough
Inconsistent and underfunded training programs may hurt more than they help, experts say.
Why autism training for police isn’t enough
By
Elissa Ball, Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky
26 November 2020 | 16 min read
Autistic and non-autistic youth get different healthcare as they age
Young people with autism receive more mental health services, more consistent primary care and less gynecological or urgent care than their neurotypical peers.
Autistic and non-autistic youth get different healthcare as they age
By
Elissa Ball
23 September 2020 | 3 min read
Almost one-third of autistic children in the United States live in poverty
Children younger than age 5 and Black and Hispanic children on the spectrum experience the most financial hardships.
Almost one-third of autistic children in the United States live in poverty
By
Elissa Ball
19 August 2020 | 1 min read
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Two years into one of the most tumultuous tenures in U.S. federal funding, researchers outline how they are coping with ongoing changes and reflect on the impact these changes are having on the system more broadly.
Amid funding uncertainty, neuroscientists report a mix of cynicism, persistence
Two years into one of the most tumultuous tenures in U.S. federal funding, researchers outline how they are coping with ongoing changes and reflect on the impact these changes are having on the system more broadly.
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Reimagining Mexico’s brain bank
Since Alzheimer’s disease researcher José Luna-Muñoz assumed leadership of the facility—Latin America’s oldest—in 2011, he has been acquiring additional tissue types and is working to expand donor recruitment to rural areas.
Reimagining Mexico’s brain bank
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Revealing how crabs make their escape
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Houdini-like Neohelice granulata offers a rare opportunity to record intracellularly from awake, behaving animals.
By
Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 0 min watch