Pratik Pawar

Future Perfect fellow @ Vox

About

Hi! I'm a journalist at Vox, where I cover health and medicine, with a focus on health innovations* and access to them. I have written about global health and development, infectious diseases, environmental health, and the pharmaceutical industry for Science, Nature, Undark, and many others. One of my stories — why it took 35 years to develop a malaria vaccine, while Covid-19 vaccines took just one — was widely republished by NPR, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, and others. I've also reported on how institutional policies shape scientific progress, from India's $6 billion research funding overhaul to the US FDA's shift away from animal testing. Before journalism, I studied biotechnology and worked in India's pharmaceutical industry. I graduated from MIT with a master's degree in science writing. I've also held fellowships at The Open Notebook, AAAS EurekAlert!, and the Indian Academy of Sciences. * Health innovations, conceived broadly. So new vaccines are drugs, yes, but also public health technologies like fluoridated water or policy innovations like nutrition labels.

Country

United States

City

Brooklyn

Industry

Writing & Editing

Skill

Data Visualization, Fact-checking, Hard News Reporting, Feature Writing, News Writing, Investigative Reporting

Experience

Future Perfect fellow

Vox

2025-7 - Present · 1 yr 3 mos

New York, New York, United States

* Cover global health, science, and medicine for Vox's Future Perfect section, through the lens of access * Focus on ideas-driven pieces, news analysis, and chart-based explainers

Freelance Science Journalist

2020-3 - 2024-7 · 4 yrs 5 mos

* Stories published by Science, Nature, Science News, Undark, and others, with work syndicated by The Atlantic, NPR, and Smithsonian magazine. * Produced investigative features on global health and infectious diseases, such as cholera and malaria, with one piece cited by The New York Times and republished by several others. * Broke news on India’s $6 billion research foundation and emerging drug-resistant malaria in Africa for international science outlets

Early-career science writing fellow

The Open Notebook

2022-2 - 2023-3 · 1 yr 2 mos

* Wrote craft-focused reporting guides on investigating scientific misconduct, covering disease outbreaks, and writing opinion pieces.

S. Ramaseshan science writing fellow

Current Science

2019-2 - 2020-2 · 1 yr 1 mo

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

* Worked with the senior editor to direct the news section, and wrote for the biweekly news column. * Ran the journal’s social media presence, growing audience to 11,000+ followers within inaugural year.