Six ABSW members win MJA Awards

Picture: The Medical Journalists’ Association Awards 2025 Winners (MJA credits).

The Medical Journalists’ Association Awards (MJA Awards) were announced this Wednesday, 17 September 2025, at an awards ceremony at the News Building, London, home of The Times and other media. A BBC team was awarded the MJA's premier award, the Outstanding Contribution to Health and Medical Journalism Award.

17 ABSW members were among the finalists for the MJA Awards, in 13 of the 16 categories. An ABSW member was guaranteed to win at least two awards, the Science Explained and Feature of the Year (specialist audience), where all finalists were ABSW members.

Meet the ABSW members who won or were highly commended:

Amanda Ruggeri won the Science Explained award, supported by Roche

'Foetal alcohol syndrome: Why fathers need to watch what they drink too', BBC.com

The judges' verdict? “Gripping explanation of complex issues that provided actionable insights for the reader.”

Simar Bajaj won the Feature of the Year (specialist audience), supported by the Doctors’ Association UK.

'The World Was on Track To End the Aids Epidemic. Then Came Trump', Nature

The judges said: “Outstanding is the only way to describe this first in-depth account of how President Trump’s abrupt freeze on PEPAR funding is unravelling two decades of HIV progress.

“It’s a masterly piece of journalism, which draws on an impressively wide range of interviews from all over the world and uses jaw-dropping statistics to convey what is likely to happen if global funding is not restored.”

Tom Whipple was highly commended in the category Feature of the Year (general audience), supported by Genolier Patient Services

'Carol Jennings was the teacher…', The Times

The judges' verdict was: “A powerful feature about Alzheimer’s disease with an excellent introduction leading into a terrific piece. Tom writes tenderly and sensitively and yet has all the research and involved all the family – with interviews with experts woven in.”

Anjana Ahuja was selected as the Freelancer of the Year, and Simar Bajaj was highly commended for the award, supported by Pharma Nord

The judges said: “Anjana’s regular contributions in the Financial Times offer opinion and insight on developments in health and science.

“Her three stories were fascinating and thought-provoking and answered questions that many people are asking about subjects ranging from the Ozempic baby boom to increasing rates of cancer in young people.”

The judges said: “Simar’s three stories, each in a different publication aimed at differing audiences, were extremely well written and thought-provoking.

“The Guardian feature article about the campaigning Baltimore surgeon who, himself, had been a victim of gun crime, was a compelling human-interest story reflecting Simar’s own persistence and resilience in gaining access to the consulting rooms and operating theatres of one of the world’s top hospitals.”

Jennifer Richardson was awarded Editor of the Year, an award supported by ABPI

Judges said: “This special investigation series into Children and Food had major political and policy salience. This editor had clear objectives from the start for these major investigations: journalistic excellence, reach, and impact – and she hit all of them.

“The series [at BMJ] was strategic in its planning and delivery, uncovering powerful and compelling new angles on well-covered topics.”

Michael Peel, together with his team from the Financial Times, Ian Bott, Steven Bernard and Charlie Bibby, won the Health and Climate Change Award, supported by Haleon.

'The race against time to defeat mosquito-borne diseases', Financial Times

Judges described this as a “fascinating look at medical research combating mosquito-borne diseases – which are becoming more prevalent as a result of climate change – presented in a compelling and accessible way.”

ABSW congratulates all winners and highly commended in the MJA awards 2025.  Full details of all, along with their work, can be found on the MJA website.