About Poisoned Pathways
To get in touch, email Cynthia Barnett, CJC Director of Environment and Climate Reporting Initiatives, at clbarnett@jou.ufl.edu.
If you’d like to share your Parkinson’s story with us, please reach out here.
Student Journalists
Advising, Editing, Production and Additional Support
Project Advisor: Cynthia Barnett, Director of Climate and Environment Reporting Initiatives, UF College of Journalism and Communications
Faculty Advisor for Design and Interactives: David Kofahl, Visiting Professional, CJC Department of Journalism
Faculty Advisor for Photography: Daron Dean, Visiting Lecturer, CJC Department of Journalism
Production and Editing: Rose Schnabel, Report for America Corps Member, WUFT News
Additional Editing: Lillian Guevara-Castro, WUFT News
Videographer and video editor: Emma Twombly
Graphics and Interactives: Nicole Borman
Data Mapping: Alanna Robbert
Additional Support: Hub Brown, Dean, UF College of Journalism and Communications; Ethan Magoc, Director, WUFT Innovation News Center; Harrison Hove, Chair, CJC Department of Journalism; Max Williams, CJC Director of Research Administration; health-journalism Professor Kim Walsh-Childers; advertising Instructional Professor Lissy Calienes; and Cally House, administrative specialist, Department of Journalism.
With special thanks to:
- Dr. Michael Okun and the health professionals and staff of UF’s Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases.
- Dr. Brittany Krzyzanowski, health geographer, Atria Research Institute.
- Dr. Leah Stuchal and the UF Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology.
- Dr. Sneha Mantri, chief medical officer, the Parkinson’s Foundation.
- Leah Utyasheva, Policy Director at the Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention.
- Laurent Gaberell, researcher and campaigner at Swiss NGO Public Eye.
- Jennifer De Gruccio, Community Education & Outreach Manager, Florida Chapter, the Parkinson’s Foundation.
- Michelle Lane, ambassador, the Davis Phinney Foundation.
- Andi Lipstein Fristedt, executive vice president, the Parkinson’s Foundation.
- Professional advisors Dan Fagin, director, NYU Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program; Caitie Muñoz, WLRN Director of Daily News; Mary Shedden, senior managing director, WUSF Public Media; Matthew Sauer, impact officer, the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation; Sarah Teale, filmmaker, Where the Sweet Birds Sang; Chad Terhune, health enterprise reporter, Reuters; Ryan Vasquez, news director, WWNO.
- UF librarians Bridget Bihm-Manuel and April Hines.
- Journalism champions Susan Ferriss, Steve Sapienza, Lisa Gibbs and the rest of the staff of the Pulitzer Center.
Donors to the University of Florida’s Environmental Journalism Gift Fund supporting opportunities for the next generation of environment and science reporters at the UF College of Journalism and Communications.
Notes on Methodology
Working in partnership with the University of Florida’s Fixel Center for Neurological Diseases, student journalists in advanced science, environment and health reporting class at the UF College of Journalism and Communications conducted initial interviews with UF Parkinson’s patients who wanted to tell their stories. These patients worry their Parkinson’s is linked to various chemical exposures, from farm work to military service.
Student journalists spent 16 weeks following those stories to other patients, caregivers, families, coworkers, physicians, researchers, Parkinson’s advocates and others, conducting nearly 100 interviews.
Chemical manufacturers have criticized media coverage of Parkinson’s and pesticides as influenced by a “mass tort machine” that spends billions on advertising. To our knowledge, none of the patients or families in our series are suing pesticide manufacturers or other entities over chemical exposures. They just want their stories told. As a public media station, WUFT does not sell advertising.
Paraquat global trade and ban analysis
Student data journalist Alanna Robbert exported more than 600 records from global trade data platform ImportGenius for her analysis of countries exporting paraquat. The dataset contained records of ships carrying product “paraquat dichloride” from April 2024 to April 2025. Mixed shipments were removed from the dataset for precision.
Shipping routes may not be precise but instead follow open-source references of standardized routes to show general global trade.
Robbert and student journalist Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp additionally built a distinct database of formal, nationwide paraquat bans. Prior research from academic study Paraquat at 63 and NGO Pesticide Action Network International’s banned pesticide database were referenced. We then fact-checked each ban with documentation and added nations that have recently banned the herbicide to arrive at our count of 74.
