Council for the Advancement of Science Writing Victor Cohn Medical Science Reporting Prize 2024: (Deadline 30 June, 2024)

CASW 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.

Beginning in 2023, the Cohn Prize is generously underwritten by Michelson Philanthropies, a Los Angeles-based philanthropic foundation devoted to supporting medical research, equity in education, and improving animal welfare.

About Victor Cohn

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. He 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.

He 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.

In 1959, Cohn co-founded the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. In 1961, he was elected to a two-year term as president of NASW. Cohn is the author of several books, including News and Numbers, a widely used journalists’ guide for interpreting and reporting statistical data in medical and scientific reports.

About Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (CASW)

The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing is committed to improving the quantity and quality of science news reaching the public. OUR MISSION Mission In the decades since its founding, CASW has refined its mission to focus on evolving challenges. History In the heady days after Sputnik, a small group of journalists joined forces to improve coverage of science news. People Meet the leadership and staff who make the Council’s programs happen. Support CASW is grateful for the gifts and grants that allow us to carry out our mission of advancing science writi..

CASW Victor Cohn Medical Science Reporting Prize

Aim and Benefits of CASW Victor Cohn Medical Science Reporting Prize

The honoree receives an award of $5,000 and a certificate. The prize is presented at a joint awards ceremony held in conjunction with ScienceWriters, a conference that combines CASW’s New Horizons in Science briefings and the National Association of Science Writers’ workshops. Awardee travel expenses to the award ceremony are covered.

CASW Victor Cohn Medical Science Reporting Prize Courses

• Journalism

Requirements for CASW Victor Cohn Medical Science Reporting Prize Qualification

• 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 2024 prize may submit up to five examples of the candidate’s journalistic endeavors, all published or aired since January 2019.
• Eligible writing includes work appearing in digital media. Books are not eligible.
• Submitted work must be published in English-language media that reach a US audience.
• Letters of nomination should include an assessment of the nominee’s body of work along with a biographical sketch.

Application Deadline

30 June, 2024

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (CASW) on casw.org to apply

Online application or nomination

Nominators and candidates must submit materials through Submittable during the submission window beginning each January 1. Letters of support may be uploaded either as part of the nomination package or via a separate submission form provided for recommenders.

The annual deadline for submission of nominations is June 30.

For more details visit: OFFICIAL LINK.