Magazine Wins National Award
The silver medal, the highest prize awarded among the 2004 entries, was shared with the University of Chicago. UCSF Magazine writers whose work contributed to the prize include Christopher Vaughan, The Rise of Systems Biology, Jeffrey Norris, Losing Paradise, and Jeff Miller, Grasping Autism. In their evaluation, the judges remarked that UCSF Magazine "consistently distinguishes itself with high-caliber scientific journalism. It covers important topics (autism, breast cancer). It bridges the gaps among scientists immersed in their own specialties. And for interested lay readers, it is thoughtfully engaging, with deft analogies where needed: "What if you couldn't distinguish between a barking dog and an oncoming train, a ringing telephone or your mother's voice" (autism, explaining a controversial theory of the disease's origins); "That would be like trying to understand the legal system by observing a lawyer in an empty room" (on systems biology)... We recognize and salute science reporting and writing of a very high order."