STAT’s most memorable photos of 2024

It’s been a big year for news — global conflict and political turmoil have filled headlines — but underneath it all are more personal stories. In an emergency room in St. Louis, a woman battled the pain of a sickle cell crises. Inside an NIH lab, a researcher investigated the effects of ultra-processed diets. And tucked among the hilly neighborhoods of Lisbon, Portugal, a promising model for family medicine provided a potential blueprint for the U.S.

STAT’s photographers were there to document these stories and more.

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Below are our favorite visual moments of 2024.

Top photo of Tammy Clemons from ‘What’s your pain right now?’ Sickle cell, loss, and survival in America

Elders leaving Hospital de São José. One of Lisbon's largest public hospitals, the building dates back to the 16th century.
Elders leaving Hospital de São José. One of Lisbon’s largest public hospitals, the building dates back to the 16th century. Read the story: Spending less, living longer: What the U.S. can learn from Portugal’s innovative health system Crystal Milner/STAT
Tara Skopelitis and her daughter Andi sit together in a relative’s home in Northport, N.Y. Read the story: How a scientific slip-up caused a pregnant woman to get an untested treatment for preterm birth José A. Alvarado Jr. for STAT
Jodi Cullity, 29, using the float tank room after her workout at the Center For Sports Performance And Research in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Jodi is the founder of ELEVEN-0 Premier Pickleball which is the largest pickleball community in New England
Jodi Cullity, 29, uses the float tank room after her workout at the Center for Sports Performance and Research. Read the story: Hospitals turn to sports performance centers to offer athletes elite care — for the right price Tony Luong for STAT
UnitedHealth Group headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn.
UnitedHealth Group headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn. Read the story:How UnitedHealth harnesses its physician empire to squeeze profits out of patients Jenn Ackerman for STAT
A portrait of Dr. Rachel Hardeman with her daughter, Leila, at their home in Minnesota. Read the story: As she drives research on structural racism in health care, Rachel Hardeman faces a painful reckoning Jenn Ackerman for STAT
Two girls watch a cattle weigh-in at the Winneshiek County Fair in Decorah, Iowa on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. ).
Two girls watch the beef cattle weigh-in at the Winneshiek County Fair in Decorah, Iowa. Read the story: Despite bird flu anxiety in the dairy barn, a yearly tradition carries on at an Iowa county fair KC McGinnis for STAT
A portrait of Sharon Maloney, whose husband, Bill Sullo, died in February 2023, at their home in Middletown, Conn. Read the story: Health Care’s Colossus: How UnitedHealth Group wields its unrivaled physician empire to boost its profits and expand its influence Tim Tai for STAT
Joel Landy, 28, a participant in a study on the effects of ultra-processed diets, has his resting energy expenditure measured on Aug. 14, 2024, in his room at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. During the 45-minute assessment, Landy rests in bed with his head in a ventilated hood but cannot fall asleep. Led by Principal Investigator Kevin Hall, the study compares participants' energy metabolism in response to ultra-processed versus unprocessed foods.
Joel Landy, 28, a participant in an NIH study on the effects of ultra-processed diets, has his resting energy expenditure measured. Led by researcher Kevin Hall, the study compares participants’ energy metabolism in response to ultra-processed versus unprocessed foods. Read the story: How a government scientist is pushing to supersize research into ultra-processed foods Christine Kao for STAT
A portrait of internist Sonya Borerro. Read the story: This federal rule didn’t stop coercive sterilization — but it blocked contraceptive access. Can it be fixed? Nate Smallwood for STAT
Victor Ambros and Rosalind Candy Lee pictured at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, Mass., Nov. 6, 2024
Victor Ambros, who was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, poses with his wife and scientific collaborator Rosalind “Candy” Lee at UMass Chan Medical School. Read the story: Inside a Nobel-winning marriage: They see each other as scientific equals, even if the prize committee doesn’t Anthony Tieuli for STAT
A pig heart is seen hooked up to the Ex Vivo system, also know as the “heart in a box” system, which provides organ perfusion, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Read the story: At a Mass General perfusion lab, a push to make more and more hearts viable for transplant Kayana Szymczak for STAT
A close up photograph of Almas Eftekhari in a red light therapy chamber that she uses to try to treat symptoms from her chronic diseases
Almas Eftekhari, a 40-year-old Lyme disease advocate, uses red light therapy to try to manage the symptoms of her chronic illnesses. Read the story: Medicine struggles to define chronic Lyme. Long Covid has only made it harder Lexey Swall for STAT
A portrait of DJ Rock , in a story about the impact of new obesity medications on Black America
Fitness instructor DJ Rock at OutBox Gym in Brooklyn, N.Y. Read the story: Black voices, Black bodies: Life in the age of Ozempic Stephanie Mei-Ling for STAT
Tonya Mitchell at her home in Dallas. Read the story: How doctors are pressuring sickle cell patients into unwanted sterilizations Nitashia Johnson for STAT
Dr Sholto David photographed in Pontypridd, South Wales. David wrote a blog post that has shaken the leadership of Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – science, medicine and health coverage from STAT
Sholto David has flagged issues on more than 2,000 papers on a site called PubPeer, where researchers critique published scientific studies. Read the story: From a small town in Wales, a scientific sleuth has shaken Dana-Farber — and elevated the issue of research integrity Francesca Jones for STAT
Vanessa Grubbs, a nephrologist in Oakland, Calif., has questioned the use of race in kidney testing since her fellowship training nearly 20 years ago. Read the story: Inside the bruising battle to purge race from a kidney disease calculator Constanza Hevia for STAT

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