Lisa Jarvis Is A Finalist In National Academies Communication Awards

Chemical & Engineering News Senior Editor Lisa M. Jarvis has been named a finalist in the National Academies 2014 Communication Awards competition. The awards recognize excellence in reporting and communicating science, engineering, and medicine to the general public.

Jarvis wrote the cover story "Orphans Find a Home" (C&EN, May 13, 2013, page 10), a gripping account of families coping with rare and often fatal diseases. Many are at the forefront of new trends in medicine, drug discovery, and patient advocacy that leverage detailed genetic information to better serve small patient populations with tailored treatments that will hopefully save lives and ease suffering.

“I’m honored to be mentioned among these talented and highly respected journalists,” Jarvis says of the winners and the other finalist for the Communication Awards. “This story would not have been possible without the amazing openness of three families—the Leiders, the Hogans, and Jill Wood and Jeremy Weishaar—in search of a cure for their child with a rare disease. I learned so much from spending time with them about the vital role patient groups can play in driving drug development for previously overlooked diseases.”

Some 335 entries were submitted for the National Academies competition. The winners are Dan Fagin for his book “Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation”; Rob Stein and NPR for the public radio series “Staying Healthy May Mean Learning to Love Our Microbes”; Dennis Overbye of the New York Times for “Chasing the Higgs”; and Craig Welch and Steve Ringman at the Seattle Times for the series “Sea Change: The Pacific’s Perilous Turn.” The other finalist in the competition is David Epstein for his book “The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance.”

The awards will be presented at an Oct. 15 ceremony at the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C.