Richard Sima

Richard Sima is a neuroscientist turned award-winning science journalist who writes the Brain Matters column at The Washington Post about mental health and the neuroscience of everyday life. After a decade-plus of research at Johns Hopkins University and Harvard University, Sima transitioned from academia to journalism.

His work covering the life, health and environmental sciences has appeared in outlets including the New York Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, and Discover Magazine. Sima has worked as a fact-checker for Vox podcasts, a researcher on a National Geographic television show, and a communications specialist for Johns Hopkins University’s International Arts + Mind Lab.

Sima is the inaugural awardee of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Grant for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism. He has been recognized for his reporting, including as a Livingston finalist and with multiple awards from the Society for Features Journalism and the National Headliner Awards.

Sima lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with his partner and his daughter. He enjoys rock climbing, playing board games and spending time with their cats, Bruce, Morty and Richard (who, he is quick to note, was already named before they met).

Richard can coach on:

• Mental health and science
• Brain health

Richard can be reached at richard.sima.science@gmail.com.