Timothy Caulfield, LL.M.
Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy

"What do we care? Why is this a big deal? Well, first of all, there's lots of evidence that the general public gets lots of its information about science in general and genetics in particular from the popular press. What is interesting is that many health-care providers also get their first taste of the story from the media and that it is often the main source for them as well."

Born in New England and raised in Connecticut, Timothy Caulfield completed a general science degree at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. After that, he did both bachelor's and master's degrees in law with an interest in health law and policy. He has worked as a research associate in genetics. He currently holds the Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy and is an associate professor in the Faculties of Law and Medicine at the University of Alberta.

Véronique Morin, B.A.
President, Canadian Science Writers' Association

"Why is it that science has to fight to be in the news? I would say that unless science stories are presented with a business angle or a human angle they don't get much play."

Véronique Morin was born and raised in the city of Québec and earned a bachelor's degree from Université Laval with a certificate in journalism. She was the science reporter and co-host for TV Ontario’s Panorama. Later she worked for Newsworld in Halifax and has produced stories for Discovery Channel, Life Network and TV Ontario. Her documentary on Hubert Reeves was nominated for an award at the International Science Film Festival. She is a freelance journalist and has been president of the Canadian Science Writers' Association since 2001.

Alexandra Paul, B.E., B.A., B.J.
Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press

"There's an ethical side to all the genetic work here and that's what makes the headlines: when something goes wrong, when people get scared and think something might go wrong, or, when they don't have the answers to things and they're worried about them."

Born in Montreal but raised in St. Andrews and Fredericton, Alexandra Paul holds two degrees from the University of New Brunswick, one in education and the other in English literature. She holds a third degree in journalism from Carleton University. She currently works for the Winnipeg Free Press, where she has been the medical reporter for 17 years. During the 1990s, she was the lead investigative journalist in the Manitoba Paediatric Cardiac Inquest.

Marc-André Masson
Host, RDI

"With mad cow disease, West Nile virus and the avian flu, we've had to learn a lot as we're covering and developing stories. When you're bombarded with new words and you're on the air, you've got to stop and say ‘go back and tell me in plainer terms'. There's a big challenge for all of us."

Originally from Trois Rivières, Quebec, Marc-André Masson graduated at the CGEP level in science with intentions to study physical education. A summer job reading news on a local radio station led him to the media full time. Since then he's worked in Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Vancouver. Currently, he lives in Winnipeg, where he hosts the daily news programme L'Ouest en direct, on RDI (Newsworld's French sister-station).