





































 V38 N2 / 2023 

©2023 American Medical Writers Association. All rights reserved.  
ISSN 2163-5315

AMWAJournal.org     3

The field of biomedical research publication has undergone 
significant changes in the last few years. The COVID-19 pan-
demic catapulted forward an era of virtual scientific confer-
ences, for which technological tools were quickly developed 
and established to enable the display of conference presen-
tations and posters on digital platforms. Although confer-
ences have returned to in-person attendance, most still use 
a hybrid format, enabling virtual participation and on-de-
mand access to digital conference materials. On the front 
of biomedical publishing by scholarly journals, there is a 
similar trend toward digital content beyond the traditional 
2D format. Many journals have embraced digital enhance-
ments of journal articles to extend their reach to a wider 
audience. Examples include video or audio abstracts, info-
graphic summaries, plain language summaries, and social 
media posts, to name a few.
 Tied to the evolving format and types of publications is 
the evolving audience of biomedical research data. In the 
current digital environment and with more open access 
available, scientific publications now reach a much wider 
audience all around the world. For publications of biomed-
ical research, especially clinical studies, the readers are no 
longer only the clinicians and researchers in the field. They 
can include investors and funders of research, payors of 
health care, and patients and their families. In this new pub-
lication environment, medical writers often embrace the 
task of completing multiple deliverables for one publica-
tion, which often means shorter timelines and more com-
plex review and approval cadence.
 The scope and depth of publications are increasing as 
well. Besides the traditional phase 1 to 4 clinical studies, 
medical writers now also work on publications of real-world 
data research, health economics and outcomes research, 
biomarker and other translational research, and preclinical 
research. Also, publication teams nowadays can be larger 
and more complex, including authors and contributors 
from more parties or functions (eg, academic institutions, 
sponsors, contract research organizations, alliance partners, 
and patients). With these changes, medical writers often 
find themselves learning new topics and collaborating with 
more people.

 Are there constant themes 
in this backdrop of a rapidly  
evolving landscape? My 
answer is a definite “yes.” One 
constant theme is the need for 
good medical writers who can 
step up to the challenges and 
contribute to successful pub-
lications, fulfilling authors’ 
visions and meeting readers’ 
needs. A good medical writer 
is masterful at the art and craft of medical writing. They have 
solid command of scientific research principles and meth-
odologies, they understand authors’ intent and readers’ 
needs, they know journals’ guidelines and requirements, 
and of course, they possess writing skills that deliver concise 
and precise prose, logical flow of information, and effec-
tive visual representation of research data. This package 
of knowledge and skills will always remain a core compe-
tency of any medical writer working on scientific publica-
tions, regardless of research topic or publication type. A 
good medical writer is also masterful at driving a project 
and collaborating with authors, contributors, and many 
other people involved in the publication process. Last, a 
good medical writer is a lifelong learner. Through contin-
ued education and professional development (eg, activities 
run by professional societies such as AMWA, the European 
Medical Writers Association, and the International Society 
for Medical Publication Professionals), they strive to keep 
up with advances and changes in the field and define and 
reflect on our evolving roles and responsibilities.
 In this special issue of the AMWA Journal, I reflect on 
the rapidly evolving landscape of biomedical publications 
and the constant theme of achieving medical writing excel-
lence. Two featured topics correspond with these 2 strands 
of thoughts.
 The first featured topic is the latest Good Publication 
Practice (GPP) guidelines—the GPP 2022 update. First pub-
lished 20 years ago, the GPP guidelines have become a  
cornerstone of principles and standards for publications  
of company-sponsored biomedical research. The latest  

Publications of Biomedical Research: Evolving Landscape and Constant 
Themes
Qing Zhou, PhD, ELS  /  Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Tarrytown, NY

FROM THE GUEST EDITOR

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AMWAJournal.org     4Publications of Biomedical Research: Evolving Landscape and Constant Themes

iteration was published in August last year. For those who 
are relatively new to the latest 2022 GPP guidelines, an over-
view article provides a summary of key updates, a quick 
tour of the much-expanded document, and a discussion of 
changes relevant to medical writers and editors. An accom-
panying piece on this topic is an interview with Dikran 
Toroser, a coauthor of GPP 2022, on his insights into the 
changing field, key updates of GPP, roles of medical writers 
and publication professionals, and uptake of GPP guidelines.
 The second featured topic is a practical guide shared 
by a seasoned writer, Monica Nicosia, for working on clini-
cal research manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed 
medical journals. This article offers perspectives, insights, 
and practical guidance on various aspects of working on a 
clinical research paper: how a medical writer contributes 
to the project at various process steps, the 
essential knowledge and skills, how to get 
started on a project, how to develop the 
first draft, how to avoid common pitfalls, 
and how to work with difficult people. Early 
career writers benefit from insights from 
experience medical writers, and as the 
author recognized, “our practice and ongo-
ing learning are critical for success.”
 This AMWA Journal issue also includes 
summaries of 3 publication-themed  
open sessions from the 2022 Medical 
Writing & Communication Conference. 
These topics—“The New Normal in 
the Medical Publication Sector,” “The 
Backbone of Manuscripts: Supporting Your 
Writing with Storytelling,” and “Journalistic 
Approach to Writing Better Abstracts”—
further add to our reflection on the evolv-
ing landscape of the field and enduring 
essentials of medical writing.

 I welcome your feedback for this special themed issue 
on publications. The AMWA Journal recently created a  
section “Publication Progress” that we hope will become a 
forum for sharing updates, experience, insights, and ideas 
for those who work in the publication field. As the Section 
Editor for “Publication Progress,” I encourage your contri-
bution to the Journal and look forward to continued reflec-
tion about our profession in an evolving landscape.

Author declaration and disclosures: The author notes no com-
mercial conflict of interest in relation to this article. The views 
and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and 
do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s employer.

Author contact: qzhou.writer@gmail.com

Editor’s Note: In our Spring 2023 

issue of AMWA Journal, the author of 

“Common Grantsmanship Hurdles of 

Early Career Clinician-Scientists and 

How a Medical Writer Can Help” noted 

that they were missing grant information 

in their Acknowledgments. The individ-

ual PDF for that article and the full issue 

PDF galleys were updated on 7 April 

2023 in order to add this information.

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