Debates, discussions and deliberations and finally decisions. That was the agenda for the judges of the 2026 Medical Journalists’ Association Awards at our judging day on Thursday 6th August.
The judges gathered at the offices of Virgo Health, who as well being the sponsor of the News Story (Broadcast) award, generously provided a space on the 7th floor of their beautiful office building in London’s Bankside for the afternoon. Those few judges who couldn’t make the event in person dialled in on Teams, whilst those attending enjoyed superb hospitality from Virgo Health; tea and coffee on arrival, grazing boards, wine and beer as the evening progressed. We are incredibly grateful to have such generous support from Virgo Health and their team.
Many thanks too, to the judges, (listed below), each of them highly regarded experts in their own field, who have spent weeks reading, listening and watching entries for their particular award category. Each judge brought a shortlist from which finalists and the eventual winner would be selected and, it was clear from the in-depth discussions going on around the room, that very careful consideration was being given to the work of each shortlisted entry.
Judges commented on the exceptional quality of many of the entries this year, and that it had been hard to provide a shortlist, let alone decide the winner and finalists. Finally, however, the decisions were complete, winners were selected and, on September 22nd, in the stunning surroundings of the 17th Floor at News UK central London, all will be revealed at the 2026 MJA Awards night. We look forward to seeing you there!
Keep an eye on our website next week when we will be announcing the finalists of all sixteen categories.
2026 MJA Awards Judges
| Maya Anaokar | Senior communications manager, Alzheimer's Research UK |
| Rebecca Asher | Partnerships and engagement manager, Wellcome Trust; freelance consultant |
| Susan Bahl | Media and communications consultant, NHS Providers, BMA, The King’s Fund |
| Yuba Bessaoud | Media lead, National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) |
| Adam Brimelow | Media relations manager, NHS Alliance |
| James Brindle | CEO, Journalists’ Charity |
| Claire Burroughs | Chief impact and growth officer, Royal College of Physicians |
| Laura Dibb | Head of communications, Cystic Fibrosis Trust |
| Kitty Dimbleby | Head of communications and engagement, New Hospital Programme (NHSE) |
| Natasha Donovan | Director, Happytohealthyou; clinical educator |
| Helene Feger | Former NHS communications director |
| Prof Paul Garner | Emeritus professor in Evidence Synthesis in Global Health, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine; Trustee at Sense About Science |
| Christine Hancock | Founder and director, C3 Collaborating for Health |
| Jon Hibbs | Director of communications and engagement, Barts Health NHS Trust |
| Dr Catherine Hood | NHS doctor; specialist in psychosexual medicine; broadcaster and writer |
| Prof Henrietta Hughes | Patient Safety Commissioner for England |
| Anna Jefferson | Director media and regional communications, Care Quality Commission |
| Dr Stella Kingett | Psychiatrist; chair of Women and Mental Health special interest group, Royal College of Psychiatrists |
| Ben Kolbington | Head of communications and deputy director, Institute of Cancer Research |
| Rita Martins | Independent communications consultant |
| Edel Mccaffrey | Independent communications consultant |
| Andrew Mccracken | Director of external affairs, Asthma + Lung UK |
| Kaye Mcintosh | Freelance health journalist |
| Leonora Merry | Director of communications and external affairs, Nuffield Trust |
| Chris Mihill | Former medical correspondent, The Guardian |
| Katrina Nevin-Ridley | Director of reputation for medicine and dentistry, Queen Mary University of London |
| Tim Nicholls | Director of advocacy & impact, Target Ovarian Cancer |
| Kerry Noble | Communications consultant in medicine and science |
| Katherine O’Brien | Head of campaigns and communications, British Pregnancy Advisory Service |
| Susan Osborne | Director of communications, The Goodwork Organisation |
| Steve Palmer | Director of communications, Wellcome Sanger Institute and Wellcome Genome Campus |
| Jane Plumb | Chief Executive, Group B Strep Support |
| Daniel Reynolds | Director of communications, NHS Alliance |
| Cressida Robson | Senior director corporate affairs, patient advocacy, public policy, strategic medical and scientific communications |
| Lee Rodwell | Health writer and author |
| Barbara Rowlands | Hon research fellow in journalism, City, University of London |
| Nick Samuels | Director of healthcare, Freshwater UK |
| David Schley | Communications and engagement lead, Academy for the Mathematical Sciences |
| Henry Scowcroft | Communications consultant, writer and editor |
| Kate Sidwell | Charity sector communications, media & PR specialist |
| Michele Simmons | Health journalist; editorial consultant and author |
| Antony Tiernan | Director of transformation communications and engagement, Department of Health and Social Care |
| Gemma Umali | Assistant director of external affairs, The King’s Fund |
| John Underwood | Director, Centre for Health Communication Research |
| Jennifer Walters | Director of communications, National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) |
| Cressida Ward | Director, Dudley healthcare communications |
| Kate Wighton | Resident doctor; former research media manager, Imperial College, London |
| Jo Willey | Healthcare, media and communications consultant, Jo Willey Media |
