A team of five journalists at The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has received a 2011 Pulitzer Prize in the category of Explanatory Reporting for "One In a Billion," describing how doctors at Children's Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin used DNA sequencing to uncover the cause of a young boy's mysterious disease. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is published by Journal Sentinel Inc., a Journal Communications' (NYSE:JRN) company.
The Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Mark Johnson, Kathleen Gallagher, Gary Porter, Lou SaldivarandAlison Sherwood.
This is the third Pulitzer Prize awarded in just four years to members of the staff of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In 2008, Dave Umhoefer received the award for his investigation into the Milwaukee County pension system. In 2010, Raquel Ruttledge won in the Local News category for her series "Cashing in on Kids." It is the eighth Pulitzer overall in the company's history.
"It is always humbling to receive a Pulitzer," said Martin Kaiser, Journal Sentinel editor. "In this case, it is especially meaningful because we were able to tell such a ground-breaking international medical story that was happening in our community. The award reinforces our commitment to journalism at the highest level for our community."
"One in a Billion" tells the story of how Dr. Howard Jacob, Director of the Human and Molecular Genetics Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and pediatric specialist Dr. Alan N. Mayer and other doctors at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, were able to diagnose a new disease by sequencing a child's DNA.
Journal Sentinel Medical Reporter Mark Johnson, Biotech Reporter Kathleen Gallagher, and Photojournalist Gary Porter spent nearly a year following the story of a 4-year-old boy who was severely malnourished and suffering from a mysterious digestive ailment that was eating away at his intestines. After multiple tests, treatments and more than 100 trips to the operating room, the Medical College of Wisconsin sequenced the boy's entire exome (all of the protein-coding parts of the genome), a process that took several months.
Graphics Editor Lou Saldivar contributed illustrations that explained the illness and medical procedures. Digital producer Alison Sherwood put together videos and slide shows -- and added interactivity to graphics – for JSOnline.com.
Mark Johnson is a health and science reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He has twice been part of reporting teams that were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting, in 2003 and 2006. Previously he worked for the Provincetown (Mass.) Advocate, The Haverhill (Mass.) Gazette, the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star and The Providence (R.I.).
Kathleen Gallagher is a business reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She was a communications consultant at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a writing instructor at the American Institute of Banking in Chicago before joining the Milwaukee Sentinel in 1993. Gallagher now covers investments and Wisconsin's life sciences and other emerging, high-growth industries.
Gary Porter has been a photojournalist with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel since 1984. Porter attended the University of Wisconsin System and studied photography at Ryerson University in Toronto. Lou Saldivar is a visual journalist and graphics editor for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Saldivar holds a master's of fine arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Alison Sherwood is a multimedia producer and blogger for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
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