Emmy-winning medical reporter will examine medicine and the media’s ethical relationship

Posted April 13, 2016Communications and Marketing Department

GREENVILLE, Pa.—Emmy-award winning KDKA-TV correspondent Dr. Maria Simbra will discuss the relationship between medicine, public health and the media during her April 25 Community Medical Ethics Project presentation at Thiel College.

Simbra’s talk, “Medicine, Public Health and the Media: Ethical Adversaries or Friends?” is in the Lutheran Heritage Room of the Howard Miller Student Center. The first session is from 1-3 p.m. and the second is from 6-8 p.m. The discussion is free and open to the public. The content for both sessions is the same. Shuttle service to and from the Howard Miller Student Center from the parking area will be available starting 30 minutes before the event.

Her presentation will cover:

Her journalism earned a Mid-Atlantic National Association of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Award in 2008. Simbra was also nominated for a regional Emmy Award in 2006 and 2007. She won the Award of Excellence from the National Association of Medical Communicators in 2006. She was awarded the Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcasters Association Award in 2011. In 2015, she won the Media Orthopaedic Reporting Excellence Award. In addition to reporting for KDKA, Simbra has been a clinical assistant professor of neurology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public health, focusing on the effects of mass media on public health.

Simbra graduated with degrees in both biology and chemistry from West Virginia University in 1989. She earned her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993. She graduated with a master’s in journalism and mass communication from Point Park University in 2003. She started working at KDKA-TV in 2002. She served as faculty on the “Medicine and the Media Symposium” in 2004 for the National Institutes of Health and as a Hearst Visiting Professional at Arizona State University in 2005.

The Community Medical Ethics Project is a collaboration between UPMC Horizon, Thiel College, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and St. Paul’s continuing care community. Its mission is to help people in the community better understand medical ethics issues so they can make better decisions involving their healthcare. The presentation is approved for American Medical Association Physician’s Recognition Award Category 1 credits.

For more information or to register, call 724-983-7168. Registration is available at the door.


About Thiel College

Thiel College is an independent college founded in the Lutheran tradition. Located in Greenville, Pa., the College offers 60 majors and minors, 24 varsity sports, and an 11:1 student-faculty ratio. The College is also home to a new Master of Science in speech-language pathology and 2Master of Business Administration. Both master’s degree programs offer innovative and accelerated five-year paths which allow students to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years. The speech-language pathology program also has an accelerated 15-month graduate-level program. The M.B.A. program also has a 12-month post-graduate program.A dedicated faculty paired with dynamic research and internship opportunities produce numerous graduate school and job placements. Coeducational from its beginnings, the College remains committed to combining tradition with innovation as it celebrates 150 years.



Thiel College
75 College Ave
Greenville, PA 16125
1-800-248-4435