Samantha Slaugther

Samantha Slaughter, M.P.H., has spent two decades happily poking around the often-bewildering world of health communication, always on the hunt for ways to make healthcare work smarter and speak clearer. She’s now bringing that curiosity to the IRP Blog, eager to delve into the compelling science bubbling up from NIH and introduce the fascinating people behind the breakthroughs.

Samantha thrives on untangling the knottiest of health topics — from the microscopic marvels of gene therapy to the societal puzzles of rare diseases and the ever-evolving landscape of patient care — transforming complexity into insights. She’s partnered with a veritable menagerie of organizations (regional health systems, non-profits, government agencies) to help patient voices shape research, champion system improvements, and ensure solid evidence, not just good intentions, guides critical health decisions.

A perpetual student of how things work (and how they could work better), Samantha embarked on a Ph.D. in Health Systems and Policy, nearly earning the rather fitting title of "Dr. Slaughter" before deciding two dissertation chapters were adventure enough (she calls it strategic quitting!). Her toolkit also includes an M.P.H. in International Health from Oregon State University, and a B.A. in Psychology and Health Communication from the University of Southern California.

When not pondering health systems, Samantha is in Portland, Oregon, negotiating hunter courses with her horse, Arlo, enthusiastically supporting her three children from various sidelines, and managing the delightful bedlam of five dogs.

Posts By This Author

A Crystal Ball for Prostate Cancer Treatment

IRP’s Dr. Adam Sowalsky Looks to Tumors’ Origins to Predict Outcomes

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

"Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been." — hockey great Wayne Gretzky

Imagine two men, both diagnosed with prostate cancer. For one, the disease will remain a quiet shadow, never seriously threatening his life. For the other, it will become an aggressive adversary, resisting treatments and altering his future. This June, as Men's Health Month brings such realities into focus, a critical question echoes in clinics and labs: how can we identify early on which cancer will turn dangerous, and how can we use that knowledge to change a patient's outcome for the better? 

IRP senior investigator Adam G. Sowalsky, Ph.D., believes the answer lies not just in how cancer adapts during treatment, but in the evolutionary traits it already possesses when it first emerges.