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David Epstein

David Epstein covered science and medicine issues as well as sports science. Prior to joining ProPublica, he was a senior writer at Sports Illustrated.

David Epstein covered science, medicine, sports, and frequently all three of those in the same project. (When a woman with muscular dystrophy and an Olympic medalist sprinter have the same mutant gene, heâs there.) Prior to joining ProPublica, Epstein was a senior writer at Sports Illustrated, where he co-authored the 2009 report that Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez had used steroids. He has also written about drugs-but-not-sports, detailing the DEA's complicated pursuit of Chapo Guzman's rivals. His science writing has won a number of awards, and he is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Sports Gene. David was a crime reporter at the New York Daily News, and the first reporter at Inside Higher Ed. He has masterâs degrees in environmental science and journalism from Columbia University, and has lived in the Sonoran desert, on a ship in the Pacific Ocean, and in the Arctic.

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The DIY Scientist, the Olympian, and the Mutated Gene

How a woman whose muscles disappeared discovered she shared a disease with a muscle-bound Olympic medalist.

Devils, Deals and the DEA

Why Chapo Guzman was the biggest winner in the DEA’s longest running drug cartel case

Chasing an Edge

How Russia Hid Its Doping in Plain Sight

A World Anti-Doping Agency report alleges widespread, widely accepted doping in track and field.

Everyone’s Juicing

Latest raids of undercover steroid labs suggest the market for steroids goes way beyond the world of elite athletes.

Chasing an Edge

The Human Reasons Why Athletes Who Dope Get Away With It

The logistics of drug testing, and the reliance on the competence and thoroughness of each country’s efforts, makes catching cheaters extra difficult.

Chasing an Edge

Speed Bumps: Why It’s So Hard to Catch Cheaters in Track and Field

A cache of leaked blood tests showed hundreds of track athletes have recorded results “suggestive of doping.” With the 2015 world track championships about to start, a look at why anti-doping tests are so ineffective.

Chasing an Edge

Alberto Salazar Disputes Allegations — Some of Which Were Never Made

In a lengthy response to stories by ProPublica and the BBC, Salazar addresses the allegations of former athletes and staff that he broke drug rules.

Chasing an Edge

Elite Runner Had Qualms When Alberto Salazar Told Her to Use Asthma Drug for Performance