I am delighted to share that I have been named a finalist in two categories at the Medical Journalists’ Association Awards 2026.

My work has been shortlisted for the Freelance Award and The Gordon McVie Award for Cancer Reporting. The recognition is particularly special because these are my first journalism award nominations in the United Kingdom.

You can view the full MJA Awards 2026 shortlist here.

The two shortlisted stories examine very different health challenges, but they are connected by the kind of journalism I have always wanted to produce: reporting that makes complex science accessible while keeping people, places and consequences at the centre.

Battle of the mosquitoes

My entry for the Freelance Award is “Battle of the mosquitoes,” a feature published in Nature Medicine.

The story explores the growing threat posed by Anopheles stephensi, an invasive malaria-carrying mosquito that has adapted particularly well to urban environments. Unlike many traditional malaria vectors, it can breed in artificial water containers and thrive in rapidly growing cities.

This creates a deeply worrying possibility. Malaria, historically associated with rural areas in much of Africa, could become an increasingly urban disease.

I reported the story from an Oxitec laboratory in Abingdon, England, where scientists were developing genetically modified mosquitoes intended to reduce populations of the disease-carrying insect. From that laboratory, the story travelled to Djibouti, where Anopheles stephensi has contributed to a dramatic resurgence of malaria.

The feature was an opportunity to examine the science behind genetically modified mosquitoes, but it was also about the questions that surround their use. Can the technology work outside carefully controlled laboratories? How should communities be involved in decisions about releasing modified insects? What happens when an innovation developed in one setting is deployed in another with very different social, regulatory and environmental realities?

Being shortlisted for this story means a great deal because it recognises the value of reporting that combines scientific explanation, field realities and the voices of those confronting disease directly.

When conflict interrupts cancer care

My second shortlisted article, “Conflict disrupts global supply chains for cancer medicines,” was published in The Lancet Oncology.

The article examines how wars and geopolitical crises disrupt the production and movement of cancer medicines. When transport routes close, manufacturing is interrupted or health systems begin to collapse, patients can lose access to chemotherapy and other life-saving treatments.

For someone receiving cancer treatment, a delay is not simply an inconvenience in the supply chain. It can mean disease progression, a reduced chance of survival or the loss of a treatment option altogether.

The story looked beyond the immediate conflict zones to show how interconnected cancer care has become. A disruption in one part of the world can affect medicine availability thousands of miles away, with low-income and fragile health systems often facing the greatest consequences.

The Gordon McVie Award shortlist is especially meaningful to me because cancer reporting has become an important part of my journalism. I have reported on access to treatment, radiotherapy shortages, cancer inequalities, health-system failures and the experiences of patients navigating systems that are frequently not designed around their needs.

These stories require scientific and policy understanding, but they also require empathy. Behind every statistic is someone waiting for a diagnosis, travelling long distances for treatment or wondering whether the medicine they need will still be available.

A personal milestone

Since establishing my journalism career in the UK, I have continued to report across borders, connecting developments in British and international science with their consequences for communities in Africa and elsewhere.

This recognition from the Medical Journalists’ Association feels like an important milestone in that journey. It tells me that stories rooted in African and global experiences belong within the highest levels of British medical journalism.

I am grateful to the editors who commissioned and strengthened these stories, the researchers and experts who shared their knowledge, and the patients, advocates and communities whose experiences give the reporting its meaning.

I am also grateful to everyone who has encouraged my work as I have built a career across science, journalism and communication.

Being shortlisted is already an honour. Whatever happens at the awards ceremony, this moment has strengthened my commitment to journalism that explains difficult science, questions the systems surrounding it and never loses sight of the people whose lives are affected.

Congratulations to all the other finalists. I am proud to have my work recognised alongside such an accomplished group of medical journalists.