The First Cohort reports on medical research with one priority: what the evidence actually shows. We follow the questions readers are asking about their health, then go to the published studies, trial registries, and primary documents to answer them, plainly, with our reasoning and our sources on the page.
We are not neutral, and we don't pretend to be. We weigh the evidence, name names the record supports, and put the burden of proof on the establishment rather than the skeptic. We label how strong the evidence is, we disclose how studies were funded, and we say so when the evidence is thin, contested, or absent.
Lena Marshall – Clinical trials · FDA · Oncology. A veteran health journalist who reads the trial before the press release. Ten years covering drug development, regulatory decisions, and oncology — now writing independently for The First Cohort.
Marcus Chen – Infectious disease · Public health · Biotech. Translates mechanism and epidemiology without dumbing them down, and reaches for the historical parallel. Seven years covering biotech and public health.
Sarah Okonkwo – Metabolic · Autoimmune · Longevity. The writer with a biology degree who chases the surprising result into its mechanism. Covers metabolic and autoimmune disease, longevity, and chronic illness.
Mira Petrov – Investigations · Accountability. Cold, controlled, document-anchored. States what the records do not establish before what they do, and follows the money. Investigative and accountability reporting.