Mark Schoofs is a staff writer and columnist for The Village Voice, where he specializes in reporting on science and medicine. His 1997 series on genetics won the Science Journalism prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), publishers of Science magazine. Schoofs has also garnered the Best Reporting award from the deadline Club and the New York chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and he is a four-time winner of the Peter Lisagor award, given by the Headline Club and the Chicago chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

In addition to reporting on science, Schoofs has written cultural essays, art and music reviews, profiles, sports stories, and foreign correspondence from Eastern Europe. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Esquire, The Advocate, the Paris Courrier International, and many other publications. Schoofs holds two United States patents, one for a swimming fin and the other for a swimming paddle. He received a B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University, magna cum laude, with distinction in the major.

He was born and raised outside of San Francisco, California. He now divides his time between Los Angeles and New York City.