Ben Goldacre

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Ben Goldacre
Born c. 1974
Occupation Medical doctor and journalist
Notable credit(s) The Guardian
Official website

Ben Goldacre is a British doctor and journalist, and the author of the The Guardian newspaper's weekly Bad Science column.[1] He works full-time as a junior doctor for the National Health Service[2][3] and is a registered psychiatrist. His first book, also called Bad Science, was published by Fourth Estate in September 2008.[3] His father is Michael Goldacre, professor of public health at the University of Oxford, and his uncle is science journalist Robyn Williams.[4]

Contents

[edit] Academic career

He studied medicine at Magdalen College, Oxford where he obtained a first class degree in his preclinical studies in 1995.[2] While at Oxford he also edited the student magazine Isis.[5] Before going on to clinical medicine at University College London, he was a visiting researcher in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Milan, working on fMRI brain scans of language and executive function. He received a masters degree in philosophy (funded by the British Academy) from King's College London.[2] He is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and is a research fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London.[6]

[edit] Bad Science column

Goldacre writes a weekly column, Bad Science, in the Saturday edition of The Guardian newspaper,[1] and publishes expanded versions of the columns with reader comments on his website badscience.net.[7] Devoted to satirical criticism of scientific inaccuracy, health scares, pseudoscience and quackery, it focuses especially on examples from the mass media, consumer product marketing and complementary and alternative medicine in Britain.[8]

Goldacre's book Bad Science was published by Fourth Estate in September 2008.[3]

He has been a particular critic of the claims of television nutritionist Gillian McKeith,[9] anti-immunisation campaigners (particularly followers of Andrew Wakefield such as Melanie Phillips), Brain Gym,[10] bogus positive MRSA swab stories in tabloids,[11] and the makers of the product Penta Water.[12] While investigating McKeith's membership of the American Association of Nutritional Consultants, Goldacre purchased a "certified professional membership" on behalf of his late cat, Henrietta, from the same institution for $60.[13] In February 2007, McKeith agreed to stop using the title "Dr" in her advertising following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority by a Bad Science reader.[14]

In 2008, vitamin entrepreneur Matthias Rath sued Goldacre and The Guardian over three articles[15][16][17] in which Goldacre criticised Rath's promotion of vitamin pills to AIDS sufferers in South African townships.[18] Rath dropped his action in September 2008 and was ordered to pay initial costs of £220,000 to the Guardian.[18] The paper is seeking full costs of £500,000, and Goldacre has expressed an interest in writing a book about Rath and South Africa, as a chapter on the subject had to be cut from his book while the litigation proceeded.[19]

[edit] Awards

Goldacre has won several awards for his journalism, including:

  • Association of British Science Writers award for Best Feature 2003[20] for his article "Never mind the facts".[21]
  • Association of British Science Writers award for Best Feature 2005[22] for his article "Don't dumb me down"[8]
  • Freelance of 2006 at the Medical Journalism Awards[23]
  • the inaugural Statistical Excellence In Journalism Award of the Royal Statistical Society[24] for his article "When the facts get in the way of a story"[25]
  • the HealthWatch Award for "significant steps in improving the public's understanding of health issues"[26]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Goldacre, Ben. "Bad Science (weekly column)". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  2. ^ a b c "Ben Goldacre". PFD Group. Archived from the original on 2008-08-14.
  3. ^ a b c Goldacre, Ben (September 2008). Bad Science. London: Fourth Estate. ISBN 978-0-00-724019-7. 
  4. ^ "The Science Show". ABC Radio National. Retrieved on 2008-11-03.
  5. ^ Goldacre, Ben. "About Dr Ben Goldacre". Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  6. ^ "Staff list". Institute of Psychiatry. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  7. ^ Goldacre, Ben. "badscience.net". Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  8. ^ a b Goldacre, Ben (2005-09-08). "Don't dumb me down". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  9. ^ Goldacre, Ben (2007-02-07). "Brought to book: the poo lady's PhD". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  10. ^ Goldacre, Ben (2006-03-25). "Exercise the brain without this transparent nonsense". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  11. ^ Goldacre, Ben (2005-11-19). "How many microbiologists does it take to change a tabloid story?". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  12. ^ Goldacre, Ben (2005-02-10). "Troubled water". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  13. ^ Goldacre, Ben (2004-09-30). "Dr Gillian McKeith (PhD) continued". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  14. ^ Gibson, Owen (2007-02-12). "TV dietician to stop using title Dr in adverts". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  15. ^ No way to treat an Aids hero Published January 20, 2007. Accessed September 3, 2008
  16. ^ 'Gambia's president may be weird, but Aids superstitions strike closer to home’ The Guardian. Published January 27, 2007. Accessed September 3, 2008.
  17. ^ 'How money is not the only barrier to Aids patients getting hold of drugs’ The Guardian. Published February 17, 2007. Accessed September 3, 2008.
  18. ^ a b Boseley, Sarah (13 September 2008). "Fall of the doctor who said his vitamins would cure Aids", The Guardian. Retrieved on 13 September 2008. 
  19. ^ Goldacre, Ben (12 September 2008). "Matthias Rath drops his million pound legal case against me and the Guardian". badscience.net. Retrieved on 2008-09-13.
  20. ^ "Science Writers Awards - Winners 2003". Syngenta ABSW Science Writers' Awards. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  21. ^ Goldacre, Ben (2003-12-11). "Never mind the facts". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  22. ^ "ABSW Science Writers' Awards - Winners 2005". Syngenta ABSW Science Writers' Awards. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  23. ^ "MJA News October/November 2006" (PDF). Medical Journalists Association (2006). Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  24. ^ "2007 Award for statistical excellence in journalism". Royal Statistical Society. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  25. ^ Goldacre, Ben (2006-04-01). "When the facts get in the way of a story". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  26. ^ "Highlights from Newsletter no 62, July 2006". HealthWatch (July 2006). Retrieved on 2008-08-14.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Goldacre"
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