Amy Maxmen (born 1978) is an American science journalist who writes about evolution, medicine, science policy and scientists. She was awarded the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting for her coverage of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and other awards for her reporting on

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...

and

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

Early life and education

Maxmen was an undergraduate student at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where she majored in biology and English. She moved to the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

for graduate studies, where she received a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Her doctoral research, published in the journal ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'', suggested that

sea spiders Sea spiders are marine arthropods of the class Pycnogonida, hence they are also called pycnogonids (; named after ''Pycnogonum'', the type genus; with the suffix '). The class includes the only now-living order Pantopoda ( ‘all feet’), alongs ...

belong to an early lineage of arthropods and that their claws may be similar to the 'great appendages' seen in fossils dating back to the Cambrian explosion.

Research and career

Maxmen is a popular science journalist. She has been a reporter at ''

Science News ''Science News'' (''SN'') is an American monthly magazine devoted to articles about new scientific and technical developments, typically gleaned from recent scientific and technical journals. The periodical has been described as having a scop ...

'' and ''

'' and an editor at ''

Nautilus Quarterly ''Nautilus'' is an American popular science magazine featuring journalism, essays, graphic narratives, fiction, and criticism. It covers most areas of science, and related topics in philosophy, technology, and history. ''Nautilus'' is published ...

''. Her articles have also appeared in publications including the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

''. She writes about issues related to evolutionary biology, health technology, science policy and medicine. In 2015, Maxmen wrote about the origins of humanity. The article, which featured in ''

'', was part of "The Best American Science and Nature Writing" in 2015. During Ebola virus epidemics, Maxmen reported from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. Maxmen was part of the 2020 cohort of the Knight Science Journalism fellows at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

and a 2022-2023 press fellow at the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

. Maxmen has been regularly featured on the ''

'' podcast, the ''CoronaPod''.

Awards and honors

* 2016 Science in Society Journalism Award for her ''

'' article on how Ebola tested traditions * 2016 Bricker Award for Science Writing in Medicine * 2018 First place in public health from the Association of Health Care Journalists Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism for her ''

'' feature on the spread of drug-resistant malaria in southeast Asia * 2019 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award, Magazine Gold; First place award for excellence in the trade category from the Association of Health Care Journalists; and the 2020 Communications Award from the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene for her ''

'' feature on how the World Health Organization battled Ebola in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo * 2021 Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting, shared with

Helen Branswell Helen Branswell is a Canadian infectious diseases and global health reporter at Stat News. Branswell spent fifteen years as a medical reporter at The Canadian Press, where she led coverage of the Ebola, Zika, SARS and swine flu pandemics. She j ...

* 2022 Feature of the Year, specialist category, from the Medical Journalists' Association; 2022 Honorable mention from the NIHCM Foundation Awards in trade journalism; and 2021 Communications Award from the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene for her ''

'' feature on the toll of inequality in the Covid pandemic among agriculture workers in the United States.

Controversies

* Amy Maxmen has faced criticism for alleged bias and inaccuracies in her COVID-19 reporting

Selected publications

Scientific research

Science writing

* * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maxmen, Amy Living people 1978 births University of California, Berkeley alumni Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni American science writers