Clare Wilson
Clare Wilson is a science and health writer at The i Paper who focuses on what new medical evidence really means for patients, clinicians and policy. She writes about complex treatments, guidelines and emerging research in plain language, testing bold claims against data and lived experience.
Brain and cognitive health
A recurring strand in Wilson’s work is the brain, especially dementia and the ways it might be prevented or treated. In her coverage of a little-known mineral proposed as a potential Alzheimer’s treatment, she traces the path from laboratory findings to clinical trials, spelling out what is promising, what is unproven and how side-effects and dosing would matter in practice. She connects these stories to broader questions of brain resilience, having previously explored topics such as the brain’s capacity to remodel itself, the impact of infections on cognition and the role of nutrients like vitamin D in protecting long-term health. Her pieces in this area combine clear explanations of neuroscience with a sober assessment of how fast, or how slowly, such science can translate into everyday care.
NHS guidance and clinical practice
Wilson also pays close attention to how national health guidance filters down to frontline interactions. In her column on new infant feeding guidelines for NHS staff, she looks beyond the wording of the recommendations to the reality of how they might be enforced, including concerns that guidance could slip into policing of parents’ choices. She brings in responses from professional and advocacy groups to show where consensus ends and contention begins, highlighting the tension between standardising best practice and respecting autonomy. Across her coverage of official advice and clinical protocols, she treats guidelines as living documents that shape relationships between staff and patients, rather than abstract policy.
Evidence, controversy and chronic illness
Many of Wilson’s pieces centre on contested treatments for chronic conditions, where patient stories and scientific trials do not always point in the same direction. Her writing on techniques used by one patient to alleviate myalgic encephalomyelitis weighs anecdotal reports against available studies, carefully distinguishing between therapies with a plausible mechanism and those with little backing. She acknowledges the desperation that can drive people toward unorthodox approaches while insisting on transparent discussion of risks, benefits and unknowns. This interest in chronic, often invisible illness runs through her work, from long-term neurological conditions to fatigue syndromes, and she consistently examines how scientific uncertainty and social stigma intersect.
Genomics and future-facing medicine
Wilson brings the same analytical approach to the future of medicine, particularly large-scale genetic and genomic initiatives. In her reporting on proposals to offer broad genetic sequencing as part of UK healthcare, she focuses on ethical questions around consent, data use and unequal access to cutting-edge diagnostics. She explains what such programmes can realistically deliver in terms of risk prediction and personalised treatment, and where expectations outrun current evidence. By setting genomic projects alongside existing screening and public health tools, she situates them within a continuum rather than treating them as magic bullets, which helps readers understand the structural changes required for these technologies to benefit ordinary patients.
Background in medical science journalism
Before joining The i Paper, Wilson spent years reporting on medicine and health for the science magazine New Scientist, where she covered topics ranging from infectious disease to neuroscience and emerging therapies. That experience informs her current beat: she is comfortable working from primary research papers, interviewing specialists and placing new findings in the context of previous trials and long-running debates. Her work has been recognised with medical journalism awards, and she is invited to speak about science writing and health reporting, underscoring her standing among peers. At The i Paper she now channels that background into a regular stream of columns and features that combine accessibility with rigorous attention to what the evidence shows.
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