Medical evidence boot camp for journalists

To help journalists who cover health and medicine, MIT’s Knight Science Journalism Fellowships program will offer an intensive course on how to evaluate medical evidence, Dec. 1-5.

"Medical researchers from MIT, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, the NIH, the FDA and other institutions will teach the course. They’ll explain how clinical trials are designed and carried out and why some kinds of studies are more credible than others. We’ll explore the politics and ethics of how new drugs are tested, often by the companies that stand to profit from them."

The 12 journalists selected will receive $500 for travel expenses to Cambridge, a hotel room and meals. Applicants must have at least five years experience. Apply by September 15.