Irena Hwang

I covered public health and the agencies that oversee it, including the FDA and CDC.

What I Covered

I used computational analysis tools to identify and quantify public health issues.

My Background

I joined ProPublica in 2021. Here, I’ve reported on a wide range of issues, including criminal justice, food safety, environmental justice and race.

Prior to ProPublica, I worked at NPR, The Associated Press and The Dallas Morning News. Before my career in journalism, I completed a doctorate in electrical engineering at Stanford University, with a focus on bioinformatics and signal processing. I studied electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Seven Things to Know About ProPublica’s Investigation of the FDA’s Secret Gamble on Generic Drugs

ProPublica spent 14 months investigating the FDA’s oversight of foreign drugmakers that send medications to the U.S. These are the key takeaways.

June 23, 2025, 6:00 am EDT