Scientist, academic publisher release romantic thriller set in world of biomedical science

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Oct. 14, 2008) – It's a scene anyone who knows the intense, intimate world of biomedical research will recognize. Andy—diffident, driven, and close to a cancer discovery—glimpses a woman late at night in the window of a neighboring lab. Despite himself, he's interested. Gina turns out to be clever, outgoing, attractive, and—amazingly—when they meet, she seems to like him. But her biotech company is struggling financially and she's responding, not unwillingly, to a charming pharmaceutical mogul interested in her vaccine work—and in her. Then she abruptly disappears and Andy has to decide: is he ready for life-changing discoveries outside the laboratory?

Dr. Jennifer Rohn, a cell biologist at University College London, knows the answer because she's lived with Andy and Gina for years. But not as colleagues: they are the central characters in her first novel, Experimental Heart, playing out their drama among a colorful supporting cast from the world of research science that Dr. Rohn has been immersed in for over a decade. Experimental Heart will be released next month by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (http://www.cshlpress.com/link/exheartp.htm).

Dr. Rohn is unusual. American-born, now a British resident, she earned a Ph.D. at the University of Washington, Seattle, and then did postdoctoral research in London and the Netherlands, before leaving bench science to become an editor and journalist, writing features for professional publications such as Nature and The Scientist. While majoring in biology at Oberlin College, Ohio, she noted the rampant stereotyping of scientists in the media and the public mind as geeks or mad professors, and decided to do something about it. The result was LabLit.com, an online magazine she founded and has edited for four years. LabLit.com is a showcase for all kinds of writing including fiction, focused not on technical details but on the culture of science as a creative endeavor.