Welcome to the December 2025/January 2026 newsletter. 

CHAPTER NEWS

• Upcoming Professional Development Webinar

• Chapter Leaders Meeting 12/17 - Recap

• Call for Interviews!

• Join our AMWA North Central LinkedIn Community

FEATURE ARTICLES

• Member Moment: Laura Chapin

JOB BOARD

• Announcements

CHAPTER NEWS

Upcoming Professional Development Webinar

AMWA North Central Chapter invites you to a panel discussion on publication extenders and amplifiers on Thursday, February 19, from 5-6 pm CST. We'll start with a brief description of these new tools in scientific communications, and then will turn it over to invited speakers who include an expert from The Journal of Urology, a founder of a social media-based journal club NephJC, and a consultant whose specialty is plain language summaries for medical communications.

Please join us directly afterwards for the AMWA North Central Chapter annual business meeting from 6-6:30pm CST. This meeting is open to all AMWA North Central Chapter members. Chapter finances, officer turnover, volunteer recruitment efforts, and other pertinent chapter matters will be discussed.

Chapter Leaders Meeting 12/17 - Recap

By Adam Fix

The December 17, 2025 AMWA Chapter Leaders Meeting focused on chapter operations, security, and leadership development. Key action items included reminding chapter officers to use the AMWA Engage chapter leaders board to share experiences and reviewing chapter websites for security risks (we're not the only ones getting phishing emails). Chapters were advised to limit publicly listed personal or work email addresses, use contact forms or centralized inboxes, and ensure compliance with bylaws by clearly identifying leaders and providing a contact method.

Updates from AMWA HQ highlighted a successful national conference, well-attended chapter dinners, and plans to incorporate leader feedback into 2026 meetings. Volunteer recruitment is ongoing at both national and chapter levels, with HQ helping route interested members to chapters when appropriate. Engage has been redesigned to better support community building and resource sharing. A Chapter Re-envisioning Task Force is being formed to assess future chapter structure and needs.

Open discussion emphasized leadership recruitment, succession planning, and chapter value. Chapters shared effective strategies such as targeted surveys, in-person networking, shadowing programs, documenting roles, and gradually onboarding volunteers into leadership. Nationals clarified flexibility around the President-Elect/Vice President role, election requirements, and compliance timelines if chapters struggle to fill officer positions. Leaders also discussed balancing event accessibility with attendance tracking and reaffirmed that the core value of chapters lies in local connection, networking, and community.

Call for Interviews!

“Member Moment” column is looking for members to be featured in upcoming editions of the Newsletter. If you are interested in being interviewed and sharing your career journey, insights, and a few personal tidbits, please reach out to Tess van Ee (tssvanee@gmail.com) to get on the interview list. This is a great way to get to know our vibrant community and we appreciate your participation!

FEATURE ARTICLES

Member Moment: Laura Chapin

By Tess Van Ee

Past-president Laura Chapin has been a cornerstone of the North Central AMWA chapter for the last five years. We chatted about her journey from lab scientist to medical writer, her love of horses and golden retrievers, and where volunteering is bringing her next. 

Tess: What career did you want to have as a kid? Did medical writing ever come up?

Laura: Of course not! I was very set on being a horse vet. I owned a horse and was into competitive riding. In high school, I did admin work at the horse vet clinic. There was a moment when I was shadowing a vet and asked whether he owned horses and rode them. He said that after spending an entire day with horses who don’t want him around, he doesn’t want to spend time with horses after work.

That always stuck with me. I want spending time with animals to be something I look forward to—a source of joy. That was a pivotal moment.

Tess: Are animals still a part of your life?

Laura: Not horses, but I love dogs, especially golden retrievers.

Tess: Once you decided not to be a vet, where did you go to college, and what degree did you get?

Laura: I majored in biology at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. During my undergrad years, I spent three summers working as a lab tech at UW-Madison to get direct research experience. I fell in love with research and enrolled in a PhD program at the University of Utah.

While working on a PhD in cancer biology, I sat through a lot of webinars and seminars. I noticed that some people were great at getting their point across, while others weren’t. Being on the receiving end, I started thinking about how I would communicate ideas. My interest in science communication was born. 

Tess: What was your first job after earning your PhD?

Laura: I knew pretty early on I didn’t want to stay in academic research. I found work at a community hospital in Iowa, managing the registry for a neurosurgeon looking at patient outcomes after lumbar fusion surgeries.

I interviewed patients, entered data, wrote abstracts and grant applications, and worked with a team to write and publish a paper. I absolutely loved it. I learned how to communicate health statistics to physicians and also to clinic staff. I learned how to tailor a message that makes sense, resonates, and is respectful to the audience.

When COVID hit, I got the chance to reflect on where I wanted my career to go. I enjoyed writing for the neurosurgeon, so I started freelancing. I did it briefly before getting a medical writing job at Boston Scientific. I’ve worked there for four years now.

Tess: What have you found rewarding about working as a medical writer? What has been challenging? 

Laura: I’ve found that the role evolves. My team is increasingly focused on processes and teamwork. It keeps me on my toes. Recently, I’ve had to learn about publication extenders, such as visual abstracts and social media content.

Communicating with coworkers is lovely but can be challenging at times. As medical writers, we hear a lot about concerns around AI. I think AI won't know how to deal with interpersonal communication. There is something to be said for humans working with humans.

Tess: When did you first get involved with AMWA?

Laura: In 2020, I went to my first networking event. It was a virtual event because it was held during COVID. I had a blast. It felt like there were so many opportunities for medical writing; it was a skill set that could take you down a lot of different avenues.

Tess: What have your volunteer roles been?

Laura: I started as a secretary, and then became president-elect, and then president. I’m just ending the past-president term. As I’m coming to the end of my term, it’s hard to think about not being involved at some level with AMWA. Without the check-ins, it’s hard to think about what the experience will look like.

I recently accepted a volunteer position on the Heritage Preservation Advisory Board for the city of Buffalo, so I won’t be volunteering with AMWA in the coming years.

Tess: What have you learned during your time volunteering for AMWA?

Laura: One of the main things I learned has to do with leadership. Because I’ve been an individual contributor for my whole career, I’ve never had direct reports. The volunteer roles are structured to include training your replacement. I had to figure out the best way to communicate tasks and gained an appreciation for people in management.

Tess: What would you say to new members who are on the fence about participating?

Laura: Jump in with both feet! Any chance to turn an experience into a networking experience—go for it. Talk to a bunch of people.

I initially did a bunch of informational interviews, which served several purposes. They confirmed I was on the right path and, when I spoke with a friendly person, the positive experience helped me avoid getting bogged down in the job search process. I would encourage new members who want to break into the field to take advantage of any activities if they can. 

JOB BOARD

Announcements

Are you looking for work? You know someone who’s hiring? Please reach out! The job board will be updated in every issue of the monthly newsletter. If you’d like to add your name to this list, please contact Dora Miedaner (dora.miedaner@gmail.com).