Marijke H. Adams, Pharm D, PhD, has has taught 21 AMWA Workshops, as well as education sessions and roundtables, at AMWA national and chapter conferences. Additionally, she has authored AMWA Journal articles and served as the subject matter expert for Ethics for Regulatory Medical Writers, an online learning module in AMWA's Certificate in Regulatory Writing: Core Knowledge. 

Marijke has a doctorate degree in pharmacy and one in pharmacy and pharmaceutics. In 2006, after 15 years of working in the drug development space as an employee, she began her freelance career, starting MH Adams & Associates, Inc. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Nova Southeastern University teaching courses to PhD and PharmD students.

She will receive the award at the 2026 Medical Writing & Communication Conference where she will also be co-leading the AMWA Workshop, Summarizing Clinical Efficacy Data for Worldwide Drug Marketing Application. Register now to join us there!

Andrea Gwosdow, PhD, has made extensive contributions to AMWA’s education program, including teaching 20 AMWA Workshops. She taught From Bench Scientist to Medical Writer and Business Ethics for Medical Communicators and co-led Ethical Standards in Medical Publication, and Punctuation for Clarity and Style. In addition, she has led education sessions and roundtable discussions at the annual Medical Writing & Communication Conference, and presented two webinars. She is also an active chapter volunteer and former president of the AMWA New England Chapter. At the national level, Andrea has served on several standing and special committees, most recently lending her expertise to the AMWA Education Committee (2022-2024). In 2018 she was awarded an AMWA Fellowship.

Andrea has her doctorate in Systems Physiology/Endocrinology and after 13 years of bench research and teaching physiology to first year medical students at Harvard Medical School, she started her freelance medical writing career. Since 1997, she has run Gwosdow Associates Science Consultants. In 2018 she published her book, The Complete Guide to Scientific Manuscript Writing.

She will receive the Golden Apple Award at the 2025 Medical Writing & Communication Conference! Register now to join us there.

President-Elect: Jennifer Minarcik, MS

Secretary: Sarah Dobney, MPH

Treasurer: Julie Phelan, MBA, MD

The officer election will take place at the 2025 Annual Business Meeting at the 2025 Medical Writing & Communication Conference, November 8 in Phoenix. Plan to join us there to usher in the new slate of officers! Register now. 

Many of the recent US executive orders, policies, and changes in government funding and resourcing directly affect the work and lives of our members and others in the field, including some jobs, training programs, contracts, censoring of established medical terminology, and the availability of data, literature, and guidances. Additionally, uncertainty has emerged about the future, given the rapid evolution of these changes.

American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) remains committed to our members, to our mission to promote excellence in medical communication, and to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are united in strengthening our communities’ capacity to understand and communicate health risks.

Our work as medical communicators often depends on evidence-based practices determined via transparent data generation from peer-reviewed, scientific literature. As such, AMWA supports evidence- and science-based medicine; the use of clear language to accurately communicate science and medicine to all stakeholders—consumers, health care professionals, regulators, and government officials alike—and the use of objectivity and diligent research in pursuit of accurate and unbiased reporting. We believe that medical communication is best served by the use of precisely defined terms that exist within the established literature and that are used by the vast majority of scientists.

We will continue to support our members as they clearly and accurately communicate information on health, science, and medicine to improve the health outcomes of all. In the upcoming months, AMWA will:

• Recruit subject matter experts to create and release timely resources on changing guidance.
• Include sessions at the 2025 annual conference that address the latest trends and developments in medical communication.
• Review and update our educational offerings to assist with professional development and training in modern health communication.

As a member of AMWA, you can support these efforts by:

• Sharing your feedback and recommendations on Engage or with AMWA leadership by emailing amwa@amwa.org.
• Interacting with AMWA on LinkedIn and encouraging your colleagues to join.
• Participating in AMWA education programs and attending the 2025 annual conference.
• Listening to and learning from our DEI Webinar.

Every member of AMWA has a voice within the organization, no matter their personal characteristics and beliefs. To ensure the dignity of all AMWA members, we encourage our members to continue to treat each other with kindness, compassion, and respect, whether in person, via Engage, or through another venue for communication.

We hear you, we see you, and we will work together to navigate these changing and challenging times. The theme of AMWA’s 2025 annual conference in Phoenix, AZ this November is “Rise. Reflect. Reimagine.” Rapidly evolving times often present the greatest opportunities, and we are committed to helping our members navigate these opportunities and emerge stronger.

Sincerely,

Shawn Watson, PharmD, PhD, BCPS

AMWA President 2024-2025

Susan Krug, MS, CAE

AMWA Executive Director/CEO

The Medical Communicator's Guide to Regulatory Writing describes the regulatory writing ecosystem, provides details about breaking into the field, and outlines the core knowledge needed to launch or advance a career as a regulatory medical writer. Explore the rewarding profession of regulatory medical writing!

The Medical Terminology: Quick Reference Guide for Medical Communicators provides the basics for mastering medical terminology. Whether you need to brush up on the basics or train a team of new medical communicators, this quick reference guide is an essential resource for a medical writer or editor's toolkit. 

To find more of our toolkits and guides visit our resources page.

A Comprehensive Guide to Medical Editing provides information and resources on the growing field of medical editing including the education, skills, and abilities needed, the stages of editing and, the tools and resources needed to begin or advance a career. Behind every good scientific document is a skilled medical editor.

How to Identify Predatory Publishers eBook will help you understand the threat to scientific integrity, recognize the characteristics of predatory journals, learn how to avoid and stop the spread of profit-based publishers and, find resources and organizations that are exposing deceptive practices.

To find all of our toolkits and guides visit our resources page.

AMWA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement

AMWA is committed to creating and maintaining a culture that embraces a diverse community of individuals who value excellence in medical writing, editing, and communication. We believe that AMWA functions more effectively with diversity of thought and inclusion of varied perspectives in the shared pursuit of our mission. We strive to 

• Demonstrate the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Encourage the interest, participation, and leadership of underrepresented groups within our organization.
• Cultivate an inclusive, diverse, and accessible community of medical communicators.
  

Value of Medical Writing: The Medical Writer’s Perspective

Regulatory medical writing professionals encounter a common set of challenges with regard to recognition of both the medical writer’s role on project teams, and the nature and extent of the value that they contribute. In this session survey results are presented and compared with responses from regulatory reviewers from a parallel survey run by the AMWA working group.

Value of Medical Writing – the Regulator’s Perspective

In this session, we share the survey results from the regulator agency perspective, and discuss their implications for document quality, its impact on the regulatory review process, and the skills medical writers need to develop to bring value to this process.

This effort to define and promote the value of medical writing continues with additional articles and presentations development.

AMWA Diversity and Inclusion Assessment Task Force Members

• Emmanuel Bassey, MD, MSc, Vision Loss in Later Life Research Lab (VITAL), University of Western Ontario
• Demetrius Carter, MBA, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Services, Certara Synchrogenix
• Dean Colston, PhD, MA, Director of Social Media and Health Communications, A Flock of Scientists, LLC
• Gail Flores, PhD, Principal Writer, Encore Biomedical Communications LLC
• Karla Haack, PhD, Associate Medical Writer, Merck & Co.
• Cyndy Kryder, MS, MWC, Medical Communications Consultant
• Endia Santee Crabtree, PhD, MS, MLA, Senior Clinical Product Risk Scientist, Boston Scientific
• Jeanette Towles, MA, President and Owner, Synterex, Inc.
• Shawn Watson, PharmD, PhD, BCPS, Senior Director, Clinical Development and Program Team Lead, Bicycle Therapeutics
• Toni Willis, MFA, Medical Editor, RTI Health Solutions
• Vee White, BA, Owner/Senior Medical Editor, Vee White Editorial, LLC

Task force members will be selected from the AMWA membership with consideration of their diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experience with D&I initiatives. The work of the task force will be accomplished through virtual meetings and will be supported by AMWA staff. AMWA members interested in serving on the task force are invited to send a brief cover letter highlighting your interest along with a biographical profile summarizing your medical communication background and experience with D&I issues to AMWA Executive Director, Susan Krug, at skrug@amwa.org by February 15, 2022.

AMWA has also just published the first of many translations that will be created in partnership with our partner organizations, EMWA and ISMPP.  We thank Amanda Xiaoqing Mao and her team at Acurit Medical Communications for their support with the Chinese translation of this JPS. 

Read more about this joint position statement, and other statements by AMWA, at www.amwa.org/position_statement.

It is important to understand that just because you receive a spoofed email, it does not mean your email has been compromised. Email addresses are quite easy for bad actors to find from a variety of sources including online directories, social media accounts, and by simply following naming protocols for company emails. The best defense is to know the signs so you can spot the spoof and act accordingly.

• Look carefully at the sender address. Although the “name” may be familiar, if the email address is unknown, it is likely a spoof. For example, all official emails from AMWA will come from an amwa.org email address.
• Please note that the steps to view the email sending address may be different for each email client and each device type, so become familiar with how to view email headers for your inbox software.
• Never click links in a suspicious email. The text for the hyperlink and the URL assigned to that text may not match. Visit known webpages by typing them into your browser, rather than clicking on unknown links.
• Do not open attachments from suspicious or unknown senders.
• Remember the old adage “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” These unbelievable email deals and offers are most likely scams.
• Be suspicious of emails that create a sense of urgency or danger. Email the actual “sender” to inquire if they are truly in need of help or your support.
• Beware of emails supposedly from an official source with bad spelling or grammar. AMWA members definitely can spot this!

The statement warns that the public could lose trust in science if scientific and medical researchers choose to bypass the traditional high standards of peer-reviewed medical journals in the rush to get research data released, particularly during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Medical communicators, including writers, editors, and those involved in quality control, play a critical role in ensuring that clinical and scientific data are published and disseminated in an accurate and clear manner. In the current rush-to-publish environment, all stakeholders in the scientific and clinical research communities and press must ensure that the public have correct and actionable information from which to make health and medical decisions,” explained Gail Flores, PhD, President of AMWA.

In particular, the statement highlights the impact of preprints – preliminary scientific reports that are made publicly available online for anyone to read and discuss before they have been peer reviewed. While preprints enable rapid release and discussion of data, many are never revised or corrected, and only about a third-to-a half are ever fully published. This can also occur with articles submitted for post-publication peer review, in which an article is published in its original form, before expert peer reviewers are invited to critique it.

The statement recognizes the benefit of rapid publication, but alerts against the potential harms associated with an accelerated process. In seeking a resolution, the three organizations present recommendations and a Reviewers’ Checklist to provide a minimum standard of pre-publication vetting to enhance preprint publication processes.

Read this Joint Position Statement in CMRO. Find other AMWA position statements at www.amwa.org/position_statement.  

The AMWA Position Statement on Legislation That Negatively Affects the Livelihood of Freelance Medical Communicators was first issued in early 2020 in response to California's poorly written 2019 state bill, AB5, and other laws that were working their way through state legislative bodies, that failed to protect its intended targets and rather harmed contract workers who choose to work on a freelance basis. 

On March 9, 2021, the US House of Representatives voted to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, and it is now headed to the US Senate. To communicate AMWA's position on this legislation, AMWA released a press release and background information document reiterating the position statement. We encourage members who are concerned about this legislation to contact their US Senators.

AMWA is guided by its vision to “create clear medical communications that lead to better health and well-being.” Systemic racism and inherent bias in our country’s policies have led to racially based health disparities that adversely and disproportionately affect minority groups, including the black community. Health and well-being for all cannot exist alongside endemic racial health inequities. To fulfill AMWA’s vision, members must communicate vital health information—medical, scientific, and ethical—in support of the health and well-being of those we ultimately serve.

Finding solutions to racial injustice is complex, time-consuming, and challenging. This challenge is not a reason to wait for others to resolve issues that belong to us all. We are committed to standing in solidarity with our black members and colleagues, as well as all communities of color, in support of equality. 

Diversity is a strength. We are proud of our warm and welcoming community and the diversity among our regional and national leaders; however, there is always room for improvement. As we move forward, we plan to ensure that our programs, policies, and practices are fair and equitable for all among our diverse membership.

Statement ratified by the AMWA Board of Directors, June 24, 2020

Read the full statement.

 Review background information.