MARILYN CHASE has been a reporter for The Wall Street Journal since 1978, concentrating on medical science and health care, and covering stories from cancer and AIDS to bioterrorism; she has been writing about epidemics for the newspaper since 1984. A graduate of Stanford University, Chase was awarded departmental honors in English literature. She attended graduate school at the University of California at Berkeley, earning a master’s degree in journalism. Chase lives with her family in San Francisco.