Spectrum Science Communications, independent health and science PR agency in Washington, D.C., has named Larry Thompson senior VP, media.  Most recently, he was the senior director of communications at Johnson & Johnson’s Office of the Chief Medical Officer. 

Larry ThompsonLarry Thompson

Thompson co-founded The Washington Post’s Health section and served as the science editor for that part of the paper.  Other experience includes broadcast correspondent for Medical News Network, science policy analyst at the US Food and Drug Administration, and communications chief of the Genome Institute at the US National Institutes of Health.

“Now more than ever, healthcare communications agencies are called upon to offer integrated, interdisciplinary teams to meet clients’ expanding needs,” said Jonathan Wilson, Spectrum president and CEO. “Larry is a natural fit with Spectrum’s health and science communicators, complementing the work of our PhDs, content developers and creative talent.”

Thompson will be based in Spectrum’s D.C. headquarters and report to Mary Conway, executive VP of media strategy.

“Larry hasn’t just been part of the healthcare media landscape, he helped shape it,” Conway said. “With that comes an insider’s perspective and long-standing relationships that could only be formed from being on the front lines.”

Spectrum, founded in 1996, is one of the top independent health and science PR agencies in the country as ranked by O’Dwyer’s.