Science journalist, author and communicator

About Me

I’m an award-winning science journalist, editor, author and communicator. Welcome to my website!

My book Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works will be published on 28th April 2026.

Preorders *really* help the book! You can preorder on Amazon or on Blackwells.

I’ll be speaking about the book (and signing it) at a public event at the London School of Economics on Tuesday 2nd June, 6.30pm. Please sign up!

I’ll be discussing and signing the book at a Brighthink event in Brighton on Tuesday 19th May, 7.30pm. You can get tickets here.

See my News & Events page for other events.

I’ve been a journalist and editor for Nature, the world’s leading science journal, for over 20 years, including five years leading the team as Chief Magazine Editor. I was named European Science Journalist of the Year in 2025, and Editor of the Year at the Association of British Science Writers awards in 2022. I currently write and edit content across the magazine. I’m also an Honorary Professor of Practice at University College London, where I teach science writing.

Please browse my site and feel free to get in touch!

more about me >
Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works – out April 2026

Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works – out April 2026

Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works – out April 2026

The remarkable story of the global movement championing the idea that evidence, not opinions, should guide our decisions. You can now preorder my book. Today, more and more people around the globe are using scientific evidence to figure out what works—in health, government and business as well as conservation, schools…

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The Life Project

The Life Project

The Life Project

The Life Project is about a remarkable series of scientific studies that have tracked generations of children growing up in Britain over the last 70 years. I spent about five years of my spare time researching and writing the book about these amazing studies, called the British birth cohorts. Today,…

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My TED talk: Lessons from the longest study on human development

Reviews

“A captivating account of the struggle to move medicine and policy from flimsy hunches to hard evidence. Full of astonishing stories and remarkable insights across all aspects of life, from clinical care to crime and climate change, Beyond Belief will change your outlook on what it means for something to be effective.”

Adam Kucharski, author of Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty

“Who knew that a book about evidence and the ways we use it—or sometimes fail to do so—could be so fascinating? Well, Helen Pearson, obviously, and her book, Beyond Belief, is such a wonderfully told, factual exploration of human history, culture and knowledge that it really should not be missed.”

Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize–winning author