Announcing 2025 Alvarez Award Recipient: Dr Jen Gunter

The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) is pleased to announce this year’s Walter C. Alvarez Award Recipient, Jen Gunter, MD, FRCS(C), FACOG, DABPM, ABPMR (pain). The Alvarez Award honors excellence in communicating health care developments and concepts to the public and is presented during AMWA's Medical Writing & Communication Conference.

Dr Gunter is a distinguished OB/GYN, author, and women's health advocate. She has a medical practice in San Francisco, California. Dr Gunter has authored two New York Times bestsellers, The Vagina Bible and The Menopause Manifesto, and her most recent book Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation was published in 2024.

Dr Gunter has a large online following and runs a blog called The Vajenda. Her mission is to provide access to quality medical information online and debunk misinformation related to women's health. The description on Substack reads, "The Vajenda is an evidence-based hub for reproductive health matters...because you can’t be empowered about your health with inaccurate information." She has covered many reproductive health topics, including care, products, conditions, and therapies.

She is the host of CBC docuseries Jensplaining and the podcast Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter from the TED Audio Collective. She also presented the third most viewed TED talk of 2020, “Why Can’t We Talk About Periods?”, on menstruation for TEDWomen. In addition to her books and blog, her writing has appeared in various publications, including the New York Times, Dame, The New Republic, and The Guardian.

Please join us in congratulating Dr Gunter and celebrating her extensive contributions to health communication! She will deliver the Alvarez Award Address at the 2025 Medical Writing & Communication Conference this November in Phoenix, AZ. Please visit www.amwa.org/conference to learn more about this event and register now!