Margaret W. Crane

Freelance Writer | Health, Medicine, Nonprofit, Government, and Education

United States

With 25 years' experience as a writer and editor for academic, science-based, and non-profit organizations, I specialize in translating complex research issues into lively, readable prose for lay audiences. I also love writing profiles and human-interest stories across a variety of fields and settings. My clients and employers have included Weill Cornell Medicine, the New York Academy of Sciences, NYU Medical Center, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, and Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, among others. My work has appeared in The Scientist, the Los Angeles Times, and on numerous health and education websites. I also delight in working with individual authors as a ghost-writer, editor, and collaborator.

Portfolio

Weill Cornell Medicine Blog Articles

Weill Cornell Patient Care Blog
03/15/2024
Should You Consider a Sleep Divorce?

Does your partner's tossing and turning wake you up at night? How about their loud snoring? According to a survey undertaken by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), more than a third of American couples have opted for a sleep divorce--the decision to sleep in separate rooms.

Weill Cornell Patient Care Blog
03/15/2024
A Young Family Man Is Thriving After a Second Kidney Transplant

David Barresi describes 2022 as one of the most fateful years of his life. In June, he found out that his wife was pregnant with the couple's first child. Then, in August, he learned that his previous kidney transplant was failing. Soon, he'd need a second transplant.

Weill Cornell Medicine Patient Care Blog
12/06/2023
The Art and Science of Managing Holiday Stress

If you're a parent or a caregiver, you're about to get much busier than usual. Between holiday shopping, cooking and visits with friends and family, you'll soon have a lot more on your plate than pumpkin pie. What's more, your children will be on winter break before you can say "Happy Holidays"!

Weill Cornell Patient Care Blog
03/01/2024
Urinary Incontinence in Men

Urinary incontinence is the involuntary leaking of urine. The condition can be embarrassing and distressing. As men aren't always quick to seek medical care, they may tend to ignore incontinence and hope it will simply go away on its own.

Weill Cornell Medicine Patient Care Blog
10/12/2023
A New Antibody-Based Vaccine Has Been Approved for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)

'Tis the season for respiratory viruses, which tend to cause a fair amount of human misery during the fall and winter months. That's because people tend to gather indoors when it's cold outside. Colder temperatures also provide viruses with certain advantages that allow them to survive outside the body in particular environmental conditions.

Weill Cornell Medicine Patient Care Blog
09/28/2023
Heart Health in Women

The diagnosis and treatment of heart disease in women used to be modeled on men's experiences. That was problematic, it turns out, as there are important differences in the ways women and men experience a heart attack, says cardiologist Dr. Nupoor Narula, an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Director of the Women's Heart Program at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Weill Cornell Patient Care Blog
6/29/2023
How to Protect Yourself When the Air is Hazardous to Your Health

The air quality index (AQI) in New York City is typically around 30. That's considered "good"-between 0 and 50-and it's what New Yorkers have come to expect of the air they breathe. Some people develop respiratory discomfort with levels above 100.

Weill Cornell Patient Care Blog
6/1/2023
Over-the-Counter Narcan: A New Weapon in the Fight Against Opioid Overdose Deaths

In late March 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an over-the-counter (OTC) version of Narcan-a medication that reverses opioid overdose. Soon, it will be available in drugstores, convenience stores, supermarkets and gas stations, as well as online-no prescription required.

Weill Cornell Medicine Patient Care Blog
08/08/2023
Malaria Infections in Florida and Texas: Will They Spread?

A century ago, malaria was endemic in the United States, especially in the South, but thanks to a vigorous public health response, the disease was considered eliminated in this country by 1951, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Weill Cornell Medicine Patient Care Blog
05/11/2023
Breast Reinnervation: Restoring Sensation after Mastectomy

There are two types of patients who may undergo mastectomy, defined as the surgical removal of one or both breasts: Some patients with breast cancer (but certainly not all); and Female-to-male transgender patients undergoing gender-affirming chest surgery Losing a breast is no minor event, says Dr. Lisa Gfrerer, an assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine who specializes in chest and breast reinnervation surgery.

Feature Articles

City Health (Issued by the CUNY School of Public Health)
05/24/2023
Data for the people

Associate Professor Nasim Sabounchi, pictured in front of a causal feedback loop diagram. Since 1999, there has been a 400% rise in drug overdose deaths, and 70% of that increase occurred in 2019 alone.

National Psoriasis Foundation magazine
Telemedicine Tears Down Barriers to Your Doctor

Editor's Note: This article was published prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, so it precedes the advent of physical distancing, but the accessibility to health care offered by telemedicine is more relevant than ever.] Technology has played an increasing role in connecting us for the past two decades.

National Eczema Association
05/19/2018
Oh baby! Eczema from pregnancy to menopause

Ah, the joys of pregnancy! While some women sail right through it, others endure morning sickness, varicose veins and hemorrhoids, to name just a few common afflictions of that blessed state. And a history of eczema may add one more source of distress into the mix.

Lupus Research Association
03/14/2019
LRA-Supported Researchers Developed a Model to Predict Full-Blown Lupus Nephritis Down the Road

LRA-Supported Researchers Developed a Model to Predict Full-Blown Lupus Nephritis Down the Road A new study funded by the Lupus Nephritis Trials Network with support from the Lupus Research Alliance has proposed a set of standardized measures that promise to improve the way clinical trials in lupus nephritis (LN) are structured and how clinical researchers report their results.

National Eczema Association
02/15/2018
People with eczema talk love, sex, and body image

How am I ever going to talk to a girl, much less hold her hand? Am I ever going to go on a date? And even if I do, will she even want to touch someone like me? Will she feel ashamed to introduce me to her parents?

National Eczema Association
09/02/2019
Has Dupixent delivered on its promise?

Carol Greenspun was told she'd probably outgrow her eczema once she reached puberty. That didn't happen. Then, her doctors predicted she'd find relief during and after pregnancy - another hormonal inflection point - but four pregnancies later, that didn't happen either. More recently, she hoped menopause would shake things up.

Living New Deal
06/11/2018
Reviving the New Deal's Lost History in New York City | Living New Deal

The eerie absence of historic signage marking the New Deal's achievements in New York City is striking, especially given the city's favored status as a recipient of New Deal funding. Between 1936 and 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funneled one-seventh of its total monies to New York City, earning it the nickname of the "47 th state" among Washington insiders.

The New American
12/2014
Living the Questions

Profile of a physician/scientist and alumnus of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans program

Newsletters

Nutrition Column for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation's membership magazine

Take Charge (membership magazine of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation)
9/2007
How Sweet It Is!

Miscellany

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
2006
Challenges in Pediatric IBD

Multi-author study of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in chlidren