TheJohn Maddox Prize is an international prize administered bySense about Science in partnership withNature. One or two individuals are recognised annually by the Prize for their work promoting sound science and evidence despite hostility. The prize was started in 2012 in commemoration ofJohn Maddox, formereditor-in-chief ofNature, who was distinguished in his advancement of science for the public interest. Winners receive a monetary award and an announcement is published inNature.
In 2012, the John Maddox Prize was awarded to British psychiatristSimon Wessely and Chinese science writerShi-min Fang.[1][2] Wessely was recognised for continuing his research on Myalgic Encaphalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome despite criticism from patient groups, and Fang was recognised for his work exposing pseudoscience and fraud as a popular science writer in China. There have been objections to Wessely being awarded the prize, however, due to concerns about his quality of research.[3]
In 2013, BritishNeuropsychopharmacologistDavid Nutt was awarded the John Maddox Prize for his influence on the evidence-based classification of drugs in the UK and elsewhere. He had faced adversity such as dismissal from his government position on theAdvisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.[4][5][6]
In 2014, the John Maddox Prize was awarded to US writer and journalistEmily Willingham and Irish physicist and science writerDavid Robert Grimes.[7] Both winners are science writers who have communicated difficult science topics to the public despite intense criticism, and in Willingham's case, legal action.
In 2015,University of Exeter academic physicianEdzard Ernst andUniversity of Oxford nutrition scientistSusan Jebb shared the John Maddox Prize.[8] Ernst was awarded for applying evidence-based methodologies to research in complementary and alternative medicines, and for communicating this research despite severe hostility. Jebb was awarded for her work to promote evidence in public understandings of nutrition in the face of criticism and false claims of industry funding.
Cognitive psychologistElizabeth Loftus was awarded the 2016 John Maddox Prize for persistence in researching and communicating the evidence behind false memory.[9]
In 2017, Japanese doctor and journalistRiko Muranaka won the John Maddox Prize for her work countering misinformation about theHPV vaccine with science and evidence, despite hostility including legal suits.[10]
In 2018, anearly-career researcher John Maddox Prize was awarded to formernaturopathBritt Hermes for promotingevidence-based medicine. Marine biologistTerry Hughes was also awarded the John Maddox Prize for his work documenting coral reef decline despite lawsuits and death threats.[11]
In 2019, the John Maddox Prize was awarded toBambang Hero Saharjo, a professor of forestry and forest fires forensics at Bogor Agricultural University, for sharing his research findings as an expert witness for at least 500 forest fire cases in Indonesia since 2000 despite facing harassment, intimidation and lawsuits. The early career prize was awarded toOlivier Bernard, a pharmacist from Quebec, Canada who became the target of a smear campaign for challenging the use of high-dose vitamin C injections in cancer patients.[12]
2020's prize was awarded, for communicating the science behindCOVID-19, toAnthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), andSalim S. Abdool Karim, director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa. Anne Abbott, a neurologist from the Central Clinical School at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia was awarded the early career prize for her perseverance in challenging unnecessary procedural treatment ofcarotid stenosis, which can lead to strokes.[13]
The 2021 prize was awarded toElisabeth Bik for "outstanding work exposing widespread threats to research integrity in scientific papers".[14][15]Mohammad Sharif Razai, fromSt George's, University of London, was awarded the early career prize for his work "tackling racial health inequalities; from vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minority groups, to revealing systemic racism as a fundamental cause and driver of adverse health outcomes".
In 2022, the John Maddox Prize was awarded toEucharia Oluchi Nwaichi, a biochemist at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, has been awarded the 2022 John Maddox Prize for engaging communities in conflict to research solutions to pollution in the oil fields of the Niger Delta.[16]
The 2023 prize was awarded to Canadian scientistNancy Olivieri for "her communication of the importance of being open with patients about medical research". Olivieri lost her post atSickKids Hospital inToronto after raising concerns about the drugdeferiprone during aclinical trial of its use.[17] The early career prize went to American epidemiologist Chelsea Polis, a specialist in sexual and reproductive health issues, for challenging false claims in the marketing of a fertility tracking device, overcoming a lawsuit from the manufacturer.[17]