Olivia Gieger is a science reporter and was The Transmitter’s news reporting intern in the summer of 2024. She is completing her M.A. in journalism in New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. There, she has covered emergency medicine, conservation ecology and climate attribution science. Her work has appeared in Inside Climate News, Forbes and Scienceline.
Olivia Gieger
Former news reporting intern
The Transmitter
From this contributor
How neuroscience comics add KA-POW! to the field: Q&A with Kanaka Rajan
The artistic approach can help explain complex ideas frame by frame without diluting the science, Rajan says.
How neuroscience comics add KA-POW! to the field: Q&A with Kanaka Rajan
By
Olivia Gieger
9 October 2024 | 7 min read
Seeing research through a new lens: Q&A with Pei Yuan Zhang
When she’s not in the lab, the cognitive scientist films documentaries that challenge her love of data and order.
Seeing research through a new lens: Q&A with Pei Yuan Zhang
By
Olivia Gieger
20 September 2024 | 7 min read
Ketamine targets lateral habenula, setting off cascade of antidepressant effects
The drug’s affinity for overactive cells in the “anti-reward” region may help explain its rapid and long-lasting results.
Ketamine targets lateral habenula, setting off cascade of antidepressant effects
By
Olivia Gieger
4 September 2024 | 6 min read
As circuits wire up, interneurons take cues from surrounding cells
The inhibitory cells’ development, diversity and abundance in the cortex is directed in part by pyramidal cells, a new preprint suggests.
As circuits wire up, interneurons take cues from surrounding cells
By
Olivia Gieger
14 August 2024 | 5 min read
Newly found circuit through visual cortex powers first look at faces
The superior colliculus, an evolutionarily ancient brain area responsible for eye movements, responds to faces before the canonical face areas do, a study of macaque monkeys suggests.
Newly found circuit through visual cortex powers first look at faces
By
Olivia Gieger
19 July 2024 | 5 min read
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Fly taste connectome traces paths from sensation to action
The map—the first of its kind for an animal more complex than Caenorhabditis elegans—gives neuroscientists a trove of testable hypotheses about how neuronal circuits guide feeding behaviors.
Fly taste connectome traces paths from sensation to action
The map—the first of its kind for an animal more complex than Caenorhabditis elegans—gives neuroscientists a trove of testable hypotheses about how neuronal circuits guide feeding behaviors.
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Lauren Schenkman
30 October 2026 | 5 min read
Remembering Gerry Fischbach, ‘orchestra conductor’ who brought scientists together
Fischbach, who died 25 October, elucidated the dynamic changes in neuromuscular junctions. Beyond the lab, he shaped careers, academic departments and scientific societies.
Remembering Gerry Fischbach, ‘orchestra conductor’ who brought scientists together
Fischbach, who died 25 October, elucidated the dynamic changes in neuromuscular junctions. Beyond the lab, he shaped careers, academic departments and scientific societies.
By
Claudia López Lloreda
29 October 2026 | 8 min read
WILD platform levels up ability to record brain activity, behavior in nature
The customizable rig combines multimodal recording, onboard processing and neuronal manipulation to power more complex experiments.
WILD platform levels up ability to record brain activity, behavior in nature
The customizable rig combines multimodal recording, onboard processing and neuronal manipulation to power more complex experiments.
By
Simon Makin
29 October 2026 | 6 min read