JPR News Story Nabs 2009 Tabbie Award

The Journal of Proteome Research has won a 2009 Tabbie Award for a news story written by Katie Cottingham. The article, “A Controversial Data Set Stirs Up Even More Controversy,” won honorable mention in the online feature category.

The story explains how a controversy over data sharing—researchers making their data sets available in public databases—erupted following a contentious debate about a Science paper in which researchers said they had sequenced collagen from a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil.

The data-sharing issue centered on an unprecedented restriction that the researcher had placed on how other researchers could use the publicly available data. “Katie reported the details of what happened and how, as well as the flaws in the system that this incident revealed,” says Elizabeth Zubritsky, assistant director of C&EN Journal News & Community. “She put the discussion into the context of the larger debate within the proteomics community about whether accepting government funding obligates researchers to share their data publicly.”

The Tabbie Awards are given annually by the Trade, Association & Business Publications International organization in recognition of excellence in editorial content and design.