Sandy Keenan

Contributing Editor
Spectrum

Sandy Keenan edits Viewpoint and news articles for Spectrum. She is a New York-based journalist who has enjoyed a richly varied career — as reporter, editor and newsroom manager — with The New York Times and Newsday. She started out as a sportswriter for the Miami Herald, then moved on to Sports Illustrated and then Newsday, where she transitioned from covering Knicks, Mets and Yankees games on deadline into editing and over to news. She eventually became Newsday‘s assistant managing editor in charge of news, investigations and narrative projects. More recently, with the Times, she served as environment editor, deputy sports editor and a staff writer for the Home & Garden section.

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a funnel collects falling images and objects related to various fields of neuroscience

AI can’t solve the brain without data that fit together

The brain's first foundation models exist because some areas of neuroscience did the slow work of developing and adopting standards to help integrate data. Artificial intelligence cannot do that work for us.

By Sean Hill
29 June 2026 | 8 min read

Queerying neuroscience: How legislation and institutions reframe LGBTQIA+ researchers’ careers

In honor of Pride Month, The Transmitter spoke with three researchers who surveyed hundreds of LGBTQIA+ neuroscientists to better understand how institutional support, harassment and policy intersect to shape their professional trajectories.

By Paige Miranda
29 June 2026 | 0 min watch
Avis Cohen.

Remembering Avis H. Cohen, who bridged disciplines to decode lamprey locomotion

The founding director of the University of Maryland’s Neuroscience and Cognitive Science program brought neuroscience, math and engineering together.

By Sarah Thau
26 June 2026 | 8 min read