Emily writes frequently about autism and related issues, and her work has appeared in print or online at Discover, New York Times, Slate, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, and others. Emily has a B.A. in English with minors in German and History and a Ph.D. in biological sciences, both from The University of Texas at Austin. She also completed postdoctoral work at the University of California, San Francisco and has taught graduate and undergraduate biology for many years.
Emily Willingham
Science writer
Spectrum
From this contributor
The legacy of Steve Silberman and his book, ‘NeuroTribes’
The writer’s empathic storytelling changed how society—and researchers—view autistic people.
The legacy of Steve Silberman and his book, ‘NeuroTribes’
By
Emily Willingham
26 September 2024 | 8 min read
Spotted around the web: Week of 29 October 2018
Here is a roundup of news and research for the week of 29 October.
Spotted around the web: Week of 29 October 2018
By
Emily Willingham
2 November 2018 | 5 min read
Book Review: A mother finds reward in risk
In “The Boy Who Loved Too Much,” a woman tries to cocoon her son, who has Williams syndrome, from life’s insults but later realizes her protective instincts carry dangers of their own.
Book Review: A mother finds reward in risk
By
Emily Willingham
30 October 2018 | 5 min read
Spotted around the web: Week of 22 October 2018
Here is a roundup of news and research for the week of 22 October.
Spotted around the web: Week of 22 October 2018
By
Emily Willingham
26 October 2018 | 4 min read
Spotted around the web: Week of 15 October 2018
Here is a roundup of news and research for the week of 15 October.
Spotted around the web: Week of 15 October 2018
By
Emily Willingham
19 October 2018 | 4 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
Portfolio of SCN2A gene variants, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 9 March.
Portfolio of SCN2A gene variants, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 9 March.
By
Jill Adams
10 March 2026 | 2 min read
Hippocampus builds reputation as ‘general-purpose statistical learning machine’
New cross-species findings may help settle a long-standing debate about whether the hippocampus is required for passive learning.
Hippocampus builds reputation as ‘general-purpose statistical learning machine’
New cross-species findings may help settle a long-standing debate about whether the hippocampus is required for passive learning.
By
Natalia Mesa
10 March 2026 | 5 min read
‘The Fox, the Shrew, and You: How Brains Evolved,’ an excerpt
In his new book, Rogier Mars provides a detailed account of animal and human brain evolution. In this excerpt from Chapter 1, he starts with the sea squirt—and why it needs the brain it eats after its larval stage.
‘The Fox, the Shrew, and You: How Brains Evolved,’ an excerpt
In his new book, Rogier Mars provides a detailed account of animal and human brain evolution. In this excerpt from Chapter 1, he starts with the sea squirt—and why it needs the brain it eats after its larval stage.
By
Rogier Mars
10 March 2026 | 6 min read