From the Nominator

"Before 2020, it would have been unimaginable that molecular biology concepts would be the topic of conversation, disagreement, and controversy across wide swaths of the world’s population. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, talk of antibodies, mRNA, PCR, and spike proteins suddenly became commonplace. “Vaccine” was Merriam-Webster’s 2021 word of the year.

Each issue of Stanford Medicine magazine features a theme package of stories told from the perspectives of physicians, researchers, students, and patients, providing insight into the world of medicine. With interest in molecules whetted by the pandemic, we decided on molecules as our theme.   

Our goal for each issue is to engage readers inside and outside of academic medicine, spread the message that Stanford Medicine is a leader in medical education, research, and patient care; promote diversity, equity, and inclusion; and provide a platform for faculty as thought leaders. Above all, we want our audience to benefit from our content. Storytelling and design decisions are shaped by our intention to accomplish these goals.   

To help inform our editorial approaches, we actively monitor audience engagement metrics, including audience emails and comments, online pageviews, social media activity, reports from those featured in the articles, and media coverage.  

The magazine’s subscribers include medical school alumni, biomedical thought leaders, the media, donors, the Stanford Medicine community, and the public. The magazine is published in print and online, with the online edition including additional articles and audio and video features. This issue was 56 pages plus covers."

From the Judges

This was a beautifully crafted magazine. We liked the mix of illustration and photography and found the overall look to be very alluring. The long-form articles were especially well-written. It is a quality publication that looked like a commercially published magazine.