Name Ana Rodriguez | Role Author | |
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Books Edward Jenner: Conquer, Polar Bears - Penguins, A Day in the Life of the Brain, Gray Foxes - Rattlesna, Leatherback Turtles - Giant Squ | ||
Ana Maria Rodriguez (born February 27, 1958) is an American children's author specializing in science and health. Her book Edward Jenner: Conqueror of Smallpox was selected for the 2006 Best Books list of Science Books & Films, a publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She sometimes writes under the pen name Mariana Relos.
Contents
Early life and education
Rodriguez was born on February 27, 1958 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and grew up in Caracas, Venezuela. She was awarded a bachelor's degree in biology from Simon Bolivar University in 1979, a master's degree in biology from the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research in 1982, and a Ph.D. in biology and immunology from the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research. After relocating in 1987 to the United States, Rodriguez completed postdoctoral studies at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.
Career
After completing her education, Rodriguez taught graduate and undergraduate students and also volunteered in the Boston Museum of Science's SCIENCE-BY-MAIL program for children. In 1995, she began taking correspondence courses on writing for children from the Connecticut Institute of Children's Literature. She completed her second course in 1999, the same year she dedicated herself to writing full time. Rodriguez's first article, "The Kids Who Fought Smallpox", was published in the May 2000 issue of Highlights for Children under her pen name Mariana Relos and won the Highlights History Feature of the Year Award.
In 2001, Rodriguez completed a third course at the Institute of Children's Literature, and in 2003 became part of the school's faculty. That same year, she published her first book for children, Fires.
Personal life
Rodriguez lives with her husband and two sons in Houston, Texas.
Published works
Awards
Highlights History Feature of the Year – Highlights for Children
2000 "The Kids Who Fought Smallpox"
Best Books List – Science Books & Films
2006 Edward Jenner: Conqueror of Smallpox
2007 A Day in the Life of the Brain