Julie M. Smyth

Julie Michelle Smyth is an Associate Editor at Open Health News, the leading news site focused on open source in medicine and health. Julie's passion for the English language and for humanitarian causes prompted her to begin her career in journalism in 2009. Rather by accident, she began writing primarily about topics related to health and medicine. She was first introduced to health information technology and open source through Open Health News before joining the staff in August 2011. She now works primarily as an editor, though she has written articles for numerous web and print publications. Her main interests in healthcare topics include bioethics, epidemiology (especially antibiotic resistance and HIV/AIDS), disaster relief, maternal and infant health, patient engagement, and humanitarian free and open source software.

In addition to editing, Julie has also worked as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, a language arts tutor, and medical receptionist. She spends her free time reading, gardening, hiking, hanging out with family, and volunteering with organizations that help women and families in need. She hopes that her writing will give better exposure to technologies and therapies that can help provide better, safer, and more affordable medical care for patients of all economic backgrounds.