ASTMH Communications Award

About the Communications Award

Nominations for the 2026 Communications Award will open in August.

A list of past winners appears below.

Purpose of the Award
The Communications Award, established under the vision of ASTMH Past President Claire Panosian, MD, DTMH (London), FASTMH, recognizes excellence in tropical medicine storytelling. The goal of the award, which is selected by a Committee, is to recognize content that enhances the public's understanding and appreciation of tropical medicine research, clinical practice and/or policy. Entries are judged on scientific accuracy, initiative, originality, clarity of interpretation and value in fostering a better understanding of the field of tropical medicine by non-science audiences.

Nomination, Eligibility and Judging

• Eligible: Articles published by a news media outlet, including newspapers, popular magazines and TV news websites, are eligible along with stories broadcast by recognized TV and radio news outlets, and documentaries produced for TV or other public distribution. (Please Note: The New York Times prohibits its reporters from entering any competition hosted by an organization "with a direct interest in the tenor of Times coverage.")
• Not eligible: Books, studies from scientific journals, blogs, or videos on websites or YouTube.
• Eligible works must be submitted in English or have English subtitles and published or released on or after July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
• Only a single article or documentary is eligible. Series will not be accepted for review; however, a single article from a series may be submitted for judging as standalone work.
• Nominators may submit a maximum of three nominations.
• ASTMH welcomes self-nominations. ASTMH members and non-members may also submit nominations.
• A committee consisting of at least three scientists and two professional science journalists and/or communications experts will determine the winners. The author(s) of the winning entry will be notified in September.
• The Committee reserves the right to recognize distinguished nominees. 

​Application Process
Complete the online nomination form when it becomes available. The form must include a PDF or Word file of print publications or an active (not password-protected) link to the nominated work. The form may be submitted by a representative of the nominator (e.g., an administrative assistant). 

Please Note: In cases where there are multiple authors for a nominated work, please list the names of all the authors in the box provided. Be sure to list the lead author first. 

Questions? 
Contact Doug Dusik, ASTMH Senior Manager, Communications 
+1-703-650-5829
ddusik@astmh.org 
 

List of Winners

2025 Michael Lewis The Washington Post "The Free-Living Bureaucrat"
2024 Leslie Roberts Science “A spiking fever: Long neglected, Lassa fever is surging in West Africa. Researchers want to know why”
2023 Meredith Wadman Science "Small Victories: Nearly 30 years after apartheid’s demise, a reporter revisits children’s health in South Africa"
2022 Alissa Escarce and Dil Afrose Jahan NPR "How Rahima came to hold a special place in smallpox history — and help ensure its end"
2021 Amy Maxmen Nature “Inequality's Deadly Toll: A century of research has demonstrated how poverty and discrimination drive disease. Can COVID push science to finally address the issue?”
​ 2020 Amy Maxmen Nature “Exclusive: Behind the front lines of the Ebola wars”
2019 Martin Enserink Science “On a remote Pacific island, this doctor has revived a 60-year quest to eradicate a disfiguring disease”
2018 Lena H. Sun; photos by Melina Mara The Washington Post "Chasing a Killer"
2017 William Brangham, Jon Cohen and Jason Kane PBS NewsHour “Why a Kenyan island may teach the world how to beat AIDS”   2016 Warren Cornwall Science "A Plague of Rats" 2015 Kevin Sack, Sheri Fink, Pam Belluck, Adam Nossiter and Celia Dugger (editor)* The New York Times "How Ebola Roared Back" *declined the award due to The New York Times policy   2014 Leslie Roberts Science "The Art of Eradicating Polio"    2013 Shelly Xie - for her unique sand art performance on neglected tropical disease University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center   2012 Jason Gale Adi Narayan Bloomberg News "The Scourge of the Superbugs"   2011 Science Financial Times - for overall excellence in reporting tropical medicine and hygiene news   2010 Tina Rosenberg National Geographic "The Burden of Thirst"   Honorable Mention Robert Guth Wall Street Journal “Gates Rethinks His War on Polio”   Donald McNeil, Jr. New York Times “At Front Lines, AIDS War is Falling Apart”   2009 Vivienne Walt Time Magazine "Death in Birth"   Honorable Mention Laurie Garrett Newsweek “Path of a Pandemic”   Andrew Jack Financial Times "Combating Malaria"   Stephanie Nolen The Globe and Mail “Why Are Millions Starving in a Booming India?”   2008 Charles Piller and Doug Smith Los Angeles Times "Unintended Victims of Gates Foundation Generosity"   Honorable Mention Susan Okie New England Journal of Medicine “A New Attack on Malaria”   Patrick Skelly Natural History “Sex and the Single Schistosome”   2007 Michael Leahy The Washington Post “Breaking the Cycle”   Honorable Mention Laurie Garrett Foreign Affairs “The Challenge of Global Health”   Martin Enserink Science Magazine “Welcome to Ethiopia’s Fly Factory”   Robert Poole Smithsonian Magazine “The Ethiopia Campaign”   2006 Celia Dugger and Donald McNeil* The New York Times “On the Brink” *declined the award per The New York Times policy   Honorable Mention John Donnelly The Boston Globe “Life Stories Part 1 and 2: Outlasting AIDS in Africa” Michael Specter The New Yorker Magazine “What Money Can Buy. Millions of Africans die needlessly of diseases each year. Can Bill Gates change that?” Richard Stone Science Magazine “Combating the Bird Flu Menace, Down on the Farm” 2005 Leslie Roberts Science “Rotavirus Vaccines’ Second Chance” Honorable Mention Jennifer Bails and Luis Fabregas Pittsburgh Tribune Review “An Unfinished Miracle”