“Why castration makes you no less of a man,” Sept. 29, 2007. This story takes a critical look at a common treatment for prostate cancer, androgen-deprivation therapy and its severe but little-discussed side effects.
* “Is it time for examinations in physical fitness” Jan. 22, 2007. This is one of a series of articles examining at the impact of schools on children’s health. The series is based on original research, done with meticulous primary data collection, but also an example of how Picard brings health data to life;
* “How politics pushed the HPV vaccine,” Aug. 11, 2007. An examination of the backroom machinations that led to the approval of funding for the HPV vaccine, this story shows Picard’s analytical skills and his ability to probe public policy issues in a provocative fashion.
* “Victims of HIV furious acquittal of administrators in tainted-blood case” Oct. 02, 2007. This is a breaking news story, done quickly on deadline but thoroughly. It is also a reminder that, like a good
beat reporter, Picard (who began covering tainted blood in the late 1980s) sticks with stories from beginning to end.
See the archived story and the contest questionnaire about how this story was written.