CAROLINA CONNECTIONS – APRIL NEWSLETTER
| Don’t miss early-bird registration for our annual chapter conference (prices go up on April 6th and we are already at 2/3rds capacity for the conference) and a final call for sponsors! Register for the free AMWA Ohio Valley Chapter’s virtual medical writers’ career roundtable on April 17th, NCRAF’s hybrid seminar on making clinical trials more equitable, effective, and patient-centered on April 24th, the free AMWA Carolinas Spring quarterly journal club on April 29th, and save-the-date for our free pre-conference networking event on May 15th. Read on for a recap of the chapter events we’ve held in the first quarter of 2025, including our first in-person networking event in the RTP! |
| Early Bird Pricing for Our Chapter Conference Ends April 5th! |
| Registration is now open for the 2025 AMWA Carolinas Chapter Conference: AMWA Carolinas Conference Registration Link! We are already at 2/3rds capacity for the conference, so please register ASAP to not miss out on a spot!  Date: Friday, May 16, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm EST Location: Friday Center, Chapel Hill, NC Early bird rates (register by April 5): -AMWA Member: $105.00AMWA -Nonmember: $145.00 -Postdoc rate: $50.00 -Student rate: $30.00 A lunch roundtable is included with your registration. Please only select one (they fill up fast!). Post conference Reception – $7.50 Sponsored in part by Yoh, A DAY AND ZIMMERMAN COMPANY , May 16, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm, at the Friday Center.  IMPORTANT: If you work for a Gold/Platinum Sponsor, please request your free registration code from your employer BEFORE registering. Codes cannot be applied retroactively. To see the program, view hotel block information, contact our conference committee, and more, please visit the AMWA Carolinas 2025 Chapter Conference webpage by clicking here.. Also, please save the date for the pre-conference networking event (free) – Thursday, May 15, 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Details coming soon! |
| Final Call for Sponsors: Chapter Conference |
| Sponsorship of our chapter conference is a great local public relations opportunity, an ideal place to recruit new writers or freelancers, and an important way to support the education initiatives of AMWA, a nonprofit organization. We offer a Freelance Sponsorship Package ($40) and 3 levels of corporate sponsorship ($150 Silver, $300 Gold, $600 Platinum). This year’s full-day, in-person conference in Chapel Hill on May 16 will feature 2 educational tracks about AI, DEI, soft skills in medical writing, and more! To learn about our sponsorship perks, check out our Sponsor Brochure. Please contact us for sponsorship information! Ready to be a sponsor? Visit our Sponsor Payment Page! For more information, please visit: 2025 Spring Conference – AMWA – Carolinas Chapter. |
| April 29th: AMWA Carolinas Chapter Spring Journal Club |
| This will be a guided group discussion led by Diksha Diundi on the following article from the 2025 spring issue of the AMWA Journal: Navigating Oncology: Expert Strategies for Effective Medical Writing. This article is a conference session report written by Padmapriya Padmanabhan that discusses the content presented by Justin McLaughlin and Virginia Kelly at the 2024 AMWA annual conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. The report can be accessed here, page 19. Please read the report ahead of time to be able to gain the most out of the discussion. Date: Tuesday, Apr 29, 2025 Location: Virtual Time: 6:30 to 7:30 pm EST Journal Club Registration Link |
| April 17th: AMWA Ohio Valley Chapter Medical Writers’ Roundtable |
The Ohio Valley Chapter is hosting a virtual career roundtable featuring expert panelists who will share their journeys in medical writing and scientific communication. Date: Thursday, Apr 17, 2025 Location: Virtual Time: 6:00 pm EST Ohio Valley Chapter Medical Writers’ Roundtable Registration Link Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights, network, and explore career paths in medical writing! |
| April 24th: NCRAF Event |
| Register for NCRAF’s monthly hybrid event, From Patient to Partner: Transforming Clinical Trials Through Authentic Engagement Speaker: Allison Kaloo. Session description: Clinical trials are at a crossroads. While decentralized approaches and digital innovations offer new opportunities, none can replace the fundamental need for trust and authentic human engagement. This talk will explore the shift from viewing patients as mere subjects to recognizing them as essential partners in research. Drawing from personal experiences as both a participant and an advocate, Allison Kalloo will highlight the missteps that drive people away, and the strategies that foster inclusion, respect, and long-term community buy-in. Attendees will gain insights into the systemic changes needed to make clinical trials more equitable, effective, and patient-centered. Date: Thursday, April 24 Time: 5:30 – 6:30 pm refreshments, 6:30 – 7:30 pm seminar Location: HYBRID, IQVIA Innovation Park, 2400 Ellis Road, Durham, NC 27703 Cost: Free for NCRAF members (annual membership is $50), $20 nonmembers NCRAF Event Registration Link. |
| Volunteer With Our Chapter! |
| We are also looking for local networking coordinators in the Charlotte and Greensboro/Winston-Salem area. If you live in this area and would like to organize a small dinner/networking event for the members in your area, please sign up! It is as easy as picking a restaurant, date and time, and letting us know. We will advertise the event in the monthly newsletter and set up a registration link for members to sign up. This can be either a short-term or long-term role.If you are interested in filling either role, please complete our Volunteer Interest Form. If you have filled the form in the past but did not indicate an interest in this role, feel free to submit the form again and state ‘LNC-Charlotte’ or ‘LNC-Greensboro/Winston-Salem’ under ‘Other’. |
| First Quarter Chapter Events Recap |
| January: The 2025 Executive Committee was elected at our virtual annual business meeting on Tuesday January 28, which also featured the history of our chapter, a summary of the AMWA national 2024 compensation survey results, and our first quarterly journal club!Thank you to all who attended and contributed to our discussion! The slides from the Annual Business Meeting are available here. February: Our annual AMWA Carolinas virtual book club event. The Data Detective by Tim Harford Discussion led by Amritha Kidiyoor, Principal Medical Writer, Merck The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis Discussion led by Oluyinka Amon, Freelance Medical Writer For Blood and Money by Nathan Vardi Discussion led by Demetrius Carter, Senior Vice President, Certara To view the slides from the event, click here. March: We had 2 events in March: our annual virtual workshop – this year’s workshop was on emotional intelligence, led by Gretchen Griffin, and our first in-person networking event of 2025 in the Triangle, held at Alleyway Bookstore (pictures below). A big thank you to our events coordinator Molly Rodriguez for leading the organization of the event, to our volunteer coordinator Kim Jochman for supplying snacks and wine, and to our chapter members who attended the event and brought books to trade!   |
