Health Communicator & Life-Science Publishing Professional

Andrea Rahkola, ELS

 
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About

Andrea Rahkola, ELS, is the Public Education Manager for Brain Health at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). At the end of 2025, the academy’s public-facing Brain & Life magazine transitioned to an online only publication model and its management was brought entirely in house. Andrea now oversees the academy’s public education portfolio, strategically developing content, liaising with the editorial board and freelancers, and collaborating across academy departments to support brain health for all.

Andrea joined the AAN in 2013 and worked on the Neurology® journals for 12 years, acquiring professional experience in scholarly medical-research publishing (editorial and production). She led an in-house production team for 5 years and maintained relationships with several vendors.

Andrea has a keen attention to detail and an eye for design. She is recognized for her ability to learn quickly, troubleshoot successfully, and produce reliable results. Andrea is also seen as an empathetic leader who is skilled at modifying her leadership style to meet the needs of employees.

Andrea is driven to help achieve effective scientific communication, increase health literacy, empower people to lead healthier lives through evidence-based communication strategies. She is committed to growing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in scholarly publishing, medical research, and public health.

In May 2026, Andrea will graduate with a Master of Public Health degree in public health administration and policy from the University of Minnesota. She has already begun applying her acquired knowledge to her role as Public Education Manager at the AAN, including the central role of equity in public health, health behavior models, and risk communications.

Andrea is particularly interested in health policy and advocacy, health communications, and management.

 

 Experienced & Certified

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Professional Experience

Certification

Volunteer Experience

Awards

 

Education

Courses & Programs

Publications

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Assessing AI Policies in Scientific Publishing: Are We Prepared for the Future?

August 14, 2025

Abstracts in Neurology®: Refining the Original Short Form

June 4, 2024

Ever Greener: Promoting More Timely and Ecofriendly Publication in Neurology®

October 9, 2023

Modifications to the Short-Form Research Article in the Print Issue of Neurology

December 26, 2022

Patty Baskin, Executive Editor: A Journal Is Her Business

April 27, 2017

The Early Career Scholarly Publishing Professional: A Case Study

August 7, 2025

Chapter 9: Capitalization

2024

Intrinsic and Acquired Professional Development at CSE: An update from the CSE Professional Development Committee

March 7, 2023

Disputes, Debates, Dialogue, and Dodgers

April 3, 2019

Self-publishing or Contract Publishing: Understanding the Advantages and Disadvantages

December 31, 2015