The Maddox Prize shortlist

The Maddox Prize exists to promote the idea that we all have a responsibility to speak up where evidence is under attack.

The award recognises courageous individuals who stand up for science and evidence, advancing public discussion around difficult topics despite challenges or hostility.

The shortlist for this year’s award, supported by the Royal Society, comprises eight such people whose courage and persistence in promoting or defending evidence have had significant real-world impact.

The winner will be announced on Thursday 29th October.

The shortlist, in alphabetical order:

Samer Abuzerr (Palestine)
Dr Abuzerr’s public-health research in Gaza – conducted in dangerous circumstances, with virtually no access to resources – contributed to the 2025 ceasefire.

Sallie Baxendale (UK)
A leading researcher in the field of the adolescent brain, Professor Baxendale insisted – at personal cost – that decisions being made about the use of puberty blockers for teenagers were founded on insufficient evidence.

Mónica Guzmán-Rojo (Bolivia)
Dr Guzmán-Rojo is a civil hydraulic engineer in Bolivia whose research into groundwater helped change land-use laws in favour of the rural and indigenous communities whose aquifers were affected by deforestation.

Alma Cristal Hernández Mondragón (Mexico)
Professor Hernández Mondragón is a pioneer in developing infrastructure for governmental science advice in Mexico, where the field is deeply politicised. She has communicated about its value publicly despite the risk of political backlash.

Cédric Lemogne (France)
Professor Lemogne is a leading physician and researcher into persistent symptoms, including Long Covid. He has been subject to public attacks for his conclusion that while persistent symptoms can be real and debilitating, they cannot always be reduced to a single cause.

Arna Mitchell (New Zealand)
Dr Mitchell is a clinical psychologist of Māori heritage who challenged the evidence base and recommendations of a high-profile report that alleged systemic racism in New Zealand psychology, despite knowing that doing so would expose her to attacks from her own community.

Cyriac Abby Philips (India)
Dr Philips is a liver specialist at Rajagiri Hospital in Kerala, India, who draws public attention to the harms he sees caused to patients by complementary and traditional medicines that often have government endorsement and strong cultural support.

Siddhartha Roy (USA)
Dr Roy faced attacks not only for disputing the officials who denied water contamination in Flint, Michigan, but also from his one-time allies when he called out a harmful false narrative of ‘brain-damaged’ children.