Shelby Grebbin was Spectrum’s editorial assistant. Before joining Spectrum, she was staff assistant at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism. As a freelance journalist, she has covered stories related to public health, data transparency and prison health care. Shelby has a B.A. in journalism from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts.
Shelby Grebbin
Editorial Assistant
From this contributor
Researchers publish new dataset on minimally verbal autistic people
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published the first repository of vocalizations from minimally verbal autistic people. Those with few or no spoken words still produce a range of phonemes, or units of sound, that may serve as developmental markers or intervention targets.
Researchers publish new dataset on minimally verbal autistic people
By
Shelby Grebbin
18 May 2022 | 4 min read
Autism and menopause: Q&A with Rachel Moseley and Julie Turner-Cobb
Menopause poses significant challenges for autistic people, according to a small survey published in 2020 — the first to explore the transition among people with autism traits.
Autism and menopause: Q&A with Rachel Moseley and Julie Turner-Cobb
By
Shelby Grebbin
7 April 2022 | 5 min read
Web-based autism screening service raises a host of concerns
Neurona Health, a company in San Francisco, California, backed away from part of its newly launched services after Spectrum started reporting about them.
Web-based autism screening service raises a host of concerns
By
Shelby Grebbin
21 March 2022 | 6 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
Five new neuroscience books, and other notable titles from 2026
The Transmitter’s summer reading list includes an autopsy of the Human Brain Project, an overview of the neuroscience of motherhood and a memoir from a pioneer in Huntington’s disease research.
Five new neuroscience books, and other notable titles from 2026
The Transmitter’s summer reading list includes an autopsy of the Human Brain Project, an overview of the neuroscience of motherhood and a memoir from a pioneer in Huntington’s disease research.
By
Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
25 August 2026 | 7 min read
Biomarkers for autism, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 24 August.
Biomarkers for autism, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 24 August.
By
Jill Adams
25 August 2026 | 2 min read
How, when and why to use agentic AI in our neuroscience labs
With agentic AI’s rapid infiltration into science, researchers need to develop AI use policies and practices.
How, when and why to use agentic AI in our neuroscience labs
With agentic AI’s rapid infiltration into science, researchers need to develop AI use policies and practices.
By
Nicolas Schuck
24 August 2026 | 7 min read