Ana María Rodríguez (writer)


Ana María Rodríguez 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 Relós.

Early life and education

Rodríguez 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 Simón Bolívar 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, Rodríguez 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, Rodríguez 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. Rodríguez's first article, "The Kids Who Fought Smallpox", was published in the May 2000 issue of Highlights for Children under her pen name Mariana Relós and won the Highlights History Feature of the Year Award.
In 2001, Rodríguez 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

Rodríguez lives with her husband and two sons in Houston, Texas.

Published works