Catherine Offord is a Barcelona-based correspondent for Science magazine specializing in research integrity, global science policy, and biomedical innovation. With degrees from Oxford and Princeton, she translates complex life science developments into impactful journalism while holding institutions accountable.
Do: Lead with documented institutional failures or policy gaps affecting research communities. Her best work combines data analysis (grant rejection rates, patent filings) with human stories.
Avoid: Incremental lab discoveries without societal implications. She prioritizes systemic issues over individual "breakthrough" narratives.
consumer gadgetry, astronomy, pure mathematics
We’ve followed Catherine Offord’s evolution from arthropod researcher to one of science journalism’s most diligent investigators. After earning a biology degree at Oxford University, where she studied spider behavior, and completing graduate work on ants at Princeton, Offord pivoted to journalism in 2016. Her early years at The Scientist magazine honed her ability to dissect complex life science topics, from intracellular bacteria (The Scientist) to cancer evolution mechanisms.
By 2020, her investigative prowess emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic when she exposed flaws in Surgisphere Corporation’s influential studies - work later cited by the World Health Organization. This established her as a correspondent for Science magazine, where she now tackles research integrity crises and global science policy shifts while based in Barcelona.
Offord’s March 2025 Science piece combines policy analysis with human stories, interviewing European lab directors seeing 500% increases in U.S. researcher applications. She contextualizes this within Trump-era funding uncertainties and university budget crises across Canada and Europe. The article’s impact was immediate - Norway’s research council cited it when announcing fast-track visa programs for displaced scientists.
"My biggest fear is that we’re going to lose a cohort of researchers worldwide," Gold tells Science. Offord’s reporting makes clear this isn’t hypothetical - she tracks three NIH-funded teams already relocating to Zurich and Melbourne.
This BioSpace exclusive revealed Arbutus Biopharma’s lawsuit over lipid nanoparticle technology, with Offord obtaining internal emails showing 18-month licensing negotiations had collapsed. Her explanation of patent priority dates (1995 vs. 2017 claims) clarified complex IP issues for general readers. Pharma legal teams subsequently referenced this coverage in Senate testimony about vaccine access reforms.
Offord’s BBC Science Focus article on sleep deprivation blended historical analysis (tracing 24/7 work culture to 1980s deregulation) with emerging biotech solutions like orexin receptor agonists. This demonstrated her ability to make circadian rhythm biology accessible while critiquing systemic healthcare failures.
Why pitch this: Offord consistently exposes how institutional failures enable scientific misconduct. Her Surgisphere investigation revealed how a 5-person company manipulated COVID treatment data across 3 major journals. Pitch stories about preprint manipulation, peer review bypass tactics, or whistleblower protections.
Why pitch this: She tracks where science funding meets political agendas, as seen in her analysis of NIH grant rejections for climate-related health projects. Ideal pitches: State legislation impacting lab safety protocols, or EU vs. US approaches to AI in drug trials.
Why pitch this: Offord highlights researchers overcoming systemic barriers, like her profile of a Puerto Rican team developing hurricane-resistant lab infrastructure. Avoid "miracle cure" stories - emphasize creative problem-solving within constraints.
Why pitch this: Her brain drain reporting shows deep interest in migration patterns. Pitch examples: African researchers returning home after Western postdocs, or visa policy impacts on international grad students.
Why pitch this: While avoiding clickbait, she explores lasting public health issues like her sleep deprivation piece. Current angles could include post-pandemic adolescent mental health studies or multi-decade vaccine efficacy tracking.
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Science, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
