Ian Haydon
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Biotech Communications, Freelance
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​Communications Manager,
Institute for Protein Design
University of Washington

I help scientists tell their stories.​

writing/editing • ​illustration • photography • brand identity • web design

As head of communications at the Institute for Protein Design, I help a diverse team of researchers share their findings with reporters, journal publishers, grant agencies, and the public. I have created content for classrooms, investors, and the TED stage. Our work on machine learning was recently selected by Science as the Breakthrough of the Year.

I'm also a freelance communications consultant specializing in early biotech startups. I help founders find their story and create effective content.

Before becoming a science communicator, I tinkered with enzymes, both in academia and in industry.

COVID-19 vaccine: I participated in the world's first clinical trial of a vaccine for COVID-19. This trial helped establish the safety of the Moderna/NIH mRNA vaccine.

Featured writing

The Washington Post
​​I volunteered to try a coronavirus vaccine

The Philadelphia Inquirer
​​How opioids reshape your brain, and what scientists are learning about addiction

Synbiobeta
​​​Melinda Gates on the promise and peril of biotechnology

Featured interviews

Bloomberg
The race gap in clinical trials

​Anderson Cooper 360
Coronavirus Town Hall


​Radio New Zealand (This Way Up)
Gene editing: Too much hype?

Featured illustrations

New York Times
​​A.I. Turns Its Artistry to Creating New Human Proteins
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​Nature
Scientists are using AI to dream up revolutionary new proteins
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