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Find Inspiration and Gain Fresh Insights at AMWA’s 
2021 Medical Writing & Communication Conference

Stephanie Wenick, MPhil 
Consultant, Wenick Communications, LLC

HIGHLIGHTED SESSIONS:
WFH! WTF? What I’ve Learned From 32 Years 
of Working From Home That Might Just Help  
You Survive
Brian Bass, MWC / President, Bass Global, Inc

Remote but Not Alone: Navigating Difficult 
Personalities When You Work From Home
Melissa Christianson, PhD / Whitsell Innovations, Inc

With the boom in remote work, I am looking forward to 
hearing from seasoned work-from-home freelancers and 
professionals on how they have navigated the challenges 
of working from home. WFH! WTF? What I’ve Learned 
From 32 Years of Working From Home That Might Just Help 
You Survive and Remote but Not Alone: Navigating Difficult 
Personalities When You Work From Home promise to 
deliver effective strategies on how to work better when 
you are on your own and no longer steps away from 
team members.

Sarah Dobney, MPH 
Senior Manager, Medical Writing, Sunovion

HIGHLIGHTED SESSION:
Bridging the Gap: Transitioning Into Regulatory  
Medical Writing
Savannah Mageau, PharmD; Shengjie Xu, PhD; and 
Amber Carr, PhD / Associate Medical Writers, Merck

As a regulatory writer for more than 20 years who now 
teaches at the graduate level, I am so looking forward to 
the Bridging the Gap: Transitioning Into Regulatory Medical 
Writing session. I hope to gain insight into the nuances 
that it now takes to transition into the regulatory writ-
ing space in order to give my students the insight they 
request from me during class. I also look forward to being 
able to give my students information on how to leverage 
their previous experience and what they are learning to 
break into a career that I have loved from the beginning 
and hope they find success in!

AMWA’s 2021 Medical Writing & Communication 
Conference, which is taking place virtually from October 
27 to October 29, will present 28 new education sessions 
on trends and opportunities for medical communicators. 
Following a year that delivered disruption, ignited innova-
tion, and required resilience in our professional and per-
sonal lives, the sessions accepted for #AMWA2021 shine 
a spotlight on the importance of medical communication, 
and the strength and commitment of the medical writing 
community, during these difficult yet amazing times.
 We asked members of the AMWA Conference Program 
Planning Committee to highlight sessions planned for the 
upcoming conference that have sparked their interest and 
to share a few thoughts about what they hope to learn.

More on next page



134    AMWA Journal / V36 N3 / 2021 / amwa.org        

 
 

Michele W. Sequeira, MS, MBA, MWC  
Senior Marketing Representative, The University of  
New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center

HIGHLIGHTED SESSIONS:
The Quick and the Dirty: Best Practices for Writing  
and Editing Under Tight Timelines
J. Kelly Byram, MS, MBA, ELS1; Theresa E. Singleton, 
PhD2; and Damiana Chiavolini, MS, PhD3 / 1Founder 
and CEO, Duke City Consulting, LLC; 2Singleton 
Science, LLC; 3Southwestern Medical Center

How Plain Language and Readability Strengthen 
Writing
Crystal Herron, PhD, ELS / Managing Director, 
Redwood Ink

I am looking forward to several educational sessions. The 
Quick and the Dirty: Best Practices for Writing and Editing 
Under Tight Timelines describes my daily life. I love learning 
about new approaches to my work, and this session 
promises to give me a few pointers for keeping up quality 
when time is constrained, which is almost always the 
case. As someone who writes for general audiences and 
patients, I’m also looking forward to How Plain Language 
and Readability Strengthen Writing. Although I value plain 
language for its powerful ability to get a clear message 
to the target audience, I can’t always articulate why 
plain language improves the reading experience for even 
sophisticated audiences. I think that this session, with its 
data-proven tools, will improve not only my plain-language 
writing skills but also my ability to explain its importance 
to others.

Andrea Giovannucci 
Senior Manager of Education, AMWA

HIGHLIGHTED SESSIONS:
A Systematic Approach to Manuscript Editing
Kelly Schrank, MA, ELS,1 and Loretta Bohn, ELS2 
/ 1Freelance Medical Editor, Bookworm Editing 
Services LLC; 2Senior Editor/Writer, RTI International

How to Master Scientific Publications: A Medical 
Writer’s Bag of Tricks
Monica Nicosia, PhD / Nicosia Medical Writer, LLC

I am excited to attend my first AMWA conference and 
to experience firsthand the breadth and diversity of 
our educational offerings. As a former medical journal 
coordinator, I have seen the valuable impact that medical 
writers have on scientific publications, and I am looking 
forward to A Systematic Approach to Manuscript Editing 
and How to Master Scientific Publications: A Medical 
Writer’s Bag of Tricks. Ensuring that manuscripts adhere 
to reporting requirements, follow the proper guidelines, 
and yet are still accessible, is an incredible feat, and I look 
forward to the speakers sharing their tips and strategies

These are just a few of the many education sessions available to conference attendees. 
All sessions will be recorded, which allows registrants to attend as many sessions as they 
want. The virtual conference platform will remain open to all attendees through the end 
of December. In addition to the plethora of education sessions, #AMWA2021 will offer 
engaging roundtable discussions, inspiring award presentations, and a virtual exhibit hall 
filled with products and services designed specifically for medical communicators.

The earlier you register the more you save and the more value you gain.  

Register by September 30 to avoid the 11th-hour rates. 
We look forward to seeing you online!

www.amwa.org/conference

http://www.amwa.org/conference



