Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting is now open for nominations. Council for the Advancement of Science Writing established the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting in 2000. Given annually, the prize seeks to honor a writer for a body of work published or broadcast within the last five years which, for reasons of uncommon clarity, accuracy, breadth of coverage, enterprise, originality, insight, and narrative power, has made a profound and lasting contribution to public awareness and understanding of critical advances in medical science and their impact on human health and well-being. We welcome donations in support of the Victor Cohn Prize.
The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing is committed to improving the quantity and quality of science news reaching the public. Led by a board of directors composed of senior journalists and others committed to excellence in the communication of science, CASW develops and funds programs to help reporters and writers produce accurate and informative stories about developments in science, technology, medicine, and the environment. Sixty years after its founding in 1959, CASW adopted a new focus on the quality, diversity, and sustainability of science journalism, in response to the challenges facing the field in the 21st century.
As science and medical reporter for the Minneapolis Tribune and then science editor, science and medical reporter, and health columnist for the Washington Post, Victor Cohn was renowned for the clarity, honesty, robustness, fairness, and effectiveness of his reporting. Cohn was at the forefront of coverage of virtually every major advance in medicine over the last five decades, from the triumph of the Salk polio vaccine and the first human experiments with cancer chemotherapy to the eradication of smallpox and the manipulation of human genes.
Cohn was the first triple winner of the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award for newspaper reporting and the first two-time winner of both the National Association of Science Writers’ Science-in-Society Award and the AAAS-Westinghouse (now the AAAS Kavli) Science Journalism Award.
Location:
United StatesBenefits
- An award of $3,000.
- A certificate.
- Travel expenses to the award ceremony.
Eligibilities
- Editors, colleagues, scientists, and others familiar with the candidate’s body of work may proffer nominations.
- Individuals may nominate themselves, but are encouraged to submit at least one letter of support from a knowledgeable colleague.
- Nominators of candidates for the 2021 prize may submit up to five examples of the candidate’s journalistic endeavors, all published or aired since January 2016.
- Submitted work must be published in English-language media that reach a US audience.
Note:
- Books are not eligible.
Application Process
- An account is required to submit. After clicking “Create Account and Continue,” applicants will be able to access the submission form.
- Nominators and candidates must submit materials through the Submittable available at the apply link.
- Nominators or supporters who are wishing to submit only a letter in support of a candidate, have to use the Letter of Support submission form.
- Letters of support may be uploaded either as part of the nomination package or via a separate submission form provided for recommenders.
- Letters of nomination should include an assessment of the nominee’s body of work along with a biographical sketch.
Note:
- If applicants have been nominated in a previous year and would like to update their nomination materials, they may use the Submittable form to do so. In place of the nomination letter, they have to simply enter text explaining that they are submitting an update.
Application Deadline: June 30, 2023
Application ClosedOfficial link
