Philip J. Hilts, the author of six books, has been a prize-winning health and science reporter for both the New York Times and the Washington Post. Over 20 years, he placed more than 300 stories on the front pages of those papers. His stories have included a report back from one mile below the Pacific Ocean surface in an active volcano, the confessions of a healer in Zambia who was "curing" AIDS, and articles on hypnosis-induced court testimony that resulted in four men being freed from jail.

His most recent book is RX for Survival: Why We Must Rise to the Global Health Challenge (Penguin, 2005). His previous book, Protecting America's Health: The FDA, Business and 100 Years of Regulation was winner of the 2004 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology, as well as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. His book Scientific Temperaments was a finalist for the National Book Award. Smokescreen: The Truth Behind the Tobacco Industry Cover-up was selected as one of the ten best books of the year by Business Week Magazine.

Hilts teaches science journalism to graduate students at Boston University and has taught journalism to undergraduates at the University of Botswana. He has been listed in Who’s Who in America since 1994.