October 2023 AMWA National Conference
AMWA NorCal members gathered for dinner at the 2023 AMWA Medical Writing & Communication Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Left to right: Crystal Herron, PhD, ELS; Nancy Katz, PhD, MWC; Leslie Kowitz, MA, ELS; Chris Small, ELS(D); Ellen Kuwana, MS; Patrice Yap, MS; Taylor Westmont; Morgan Leafe, MD, MHA; Linhui Li, PhD.
The 2023 AMWA National Conference occurred in Baltimore, Maryland on October 25-28. The themes of the conference included regulatory writing and artificial intelligence (AI). Some of the most popular talks were those on AI, such as “Take the Leap! Steps to Integrate AI into Your Work” and “Don’t be Afraid of the Machines: AI will transform and enhance the future of Medical Writing.”
Several AMWA NorCal members attended, and one of our members, Dr. Crystal Herron, presented on the final day of the conference. Dr. Herron presented a talk titled “Find Your Flow: Connect Ideas to Guide Readers Through Your Writing.” She described two ways to facilitate flow: linking and relaying, which are strategies to connect old information to new information. The talk was so helpful that the national AMWA organization invited her to repeat it on a live webinar that occurred in March 2024.
AMWA NorCal members met at the Italian restaurant La Scala for dinner on one of the evenings. The dinner was an opportunity to connect new and old members, as a few attendees had joined AMWA recently. The wine was good, the food excellent, and the conversation even better. Everyone walked back to the hotel together, continuing to chat along the way.
The upcoming Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) also features AI as a theme and will present a new opportunity to connect with fellow AMWA NorCal members. The PCC will occur in Santa Clara from June 7-9 (register here). We look forward to seeing you there!
About the author: Taylor Westmont earned her BS in Biological Sciences at Tufts University and is currently pursuing a PhD in Immunology at the University of California, Davis. She studies the effects of early-life antibiotics on the developing lung and immune system.
