Executive Committee

  Dr Ian Harrison is the Scientific Communications and Clinical Trials Manager for Ego Pharmaceuticals. Ian joined Ego Pharmaceuticals in 2017, at first splitting his time between the Research and Development laboratory and the Regulatory Affairs department before moving to his current role. Prior to his position at Ego Pharmaceuticals, he spent many years in medical research and academia and has published on a wide variety of topics, from the impact of reactive oxygen species on cancer development to the optimal topical treatment strategies available for atopic dermatitis. Ian holds a PhD in Pharmacology from Monash University. His area of focus at Ego Pharmaceuticals is the design and implementation of clinical trials, and the development of technical communications, from presentations and regulatory arguments to scientific publications, for all of Egos stakeholders, including healthcare professionals and consumers.

Email: president@medicalwriters.org

Nicola started her career in medical writing after completing a BSc majoring in physiology and pharmacology. Over more than 30 years she has developed experience and expertise in a wide variety of scientific medical writing tasks, from manuscripts (including publications in NEJM, JAMA and the Lancet family of journals) to “plain language” patient information/website resources, and conference materials. As a freelancer for the last 9 years, she primarily works directly with researchers and key opinion leaders based in Asia or Europe.

Email: vicepresident@medicalwriters.org

Shelley works as a nurse midwife specialising in neonatal care. She holds tertiary qualifications in nursing, psychology, editing and publishing, public health, and is currently working towards completing a PhD. She works in Sydney at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Women and Babies Newborn Care as Clinical Nurse Specialist (Research). Shelley became a member of AMWA after attending one of their annual conferences, quite by chance, and eventually joined the AMWA Committee to contribute her expertise on association governance.

Email: secretary@medicalwriters.org

Sheridan has a PhD in lung cancer and subsequently completed post-doctoral work in COPD. Following this, she left academia and Australia for the varied life of medical writing in New Zealand. After 15 years in medical communications at a medical publisher, she is now back in Australia, and a freelance medical writer focusing on manuscripts for submission to medical journals, medical conference materials and medical education. Oncology, inflammatory lung diseases, HIV and diabetes are specialities, but she’ll turn her writing hand to almost any topic that requires evidence-based, clear and balanced communications.

Email: treasurer@medicalwriters.org

Sophia Auld writes clear, accurate, and persuasive copy to help health and medical brands prove their expertise, educate customers and the public, and grow their sales. Before pursuing her lifelong love of writing, Sophia worked as a physiotherapist for over 25 years. 
She has written for NSW Health, Deaf Children Australia, Healthscope, the Victorian Department of Health, GSK, HCF and Air Liquide Healthcare, along with many health practitioners and small businesses. Her health articles have featured in titles including The Saturday Paper, MiNDFOOD, Good Health, WellBeing, Breathe, and The New Daily.
When she’s not at her desk, you might find Sophia bushwalking, at the gym, reading, drinking coffee, or hanging out with her family.

Eve is an Australian freelance medical writer and marketing consultant based in Brisbane. She specialises in creating clear, caring and credible health content.  Combining a master’s degree in marketing with her past experience as the marketing manager at a major hospital research foundation, Eve applies health-literacy strategies to produce thoroughly researched, up-to-date, evidence-based content.

Michael has an MSc (1^st class honours) in microbiology from the University of Canterbury and a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Otago. Michael joined Oxford PharmaGenesis as a medical writer in 2008 after undertaking post-doctoral research at the University of Oxford. He is currently a CMPP-qualified Scientific Director (New Zealand-based) in the Melbourne office of Oxford PharmaGenesis, providing strategic and content overview across several accounts. During his 15 years in the industry, Michael has gained extensive experience in publication development (with a fair amount of dabbling in other forms of medical communication) across a range of evidence types and therapy areas, including co-authorship of several narrative and systematic review publications. At present, he has a strong interest (though limited expertise) in the practical integration of AI into the publication development process, especially regarding literature reviews. Michael enjoys reading science fiction, playing video games, hanging out with his family, and his regular poker evening with his friends.  

Marie has an MSc(hons) in physiology from the University of Auckland. After graduating, a chance viewing of a job advertisement for a medical writer at Adis International was the start of a medical writing career spanning almost 20 years. Marie has worked on a variety of publications and has reported on late-breaking research from major medical conferences. She has worked as a freelancer for 10 years, and now works with agencies across the globe. She has substantial experience in diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatology and multiple sclerosis, and is willing and able to work across any and all therapeutic areas. Her areas of expertise include manuscripts, conference materials, patient information, and medical education.

Ben is a freelance medical writer based just outside of Melbourne, Australia. Originally from New Zealand, he studied at the University of Auckland, graduating with a BSC in Pharmacology and a Post-Graduate Business Diploma in Health Management. Over the past 15 years, Ben has worked in various roles in medical communications agencies and pharmaceutical companies both in New Zealand and the UK. In 2020, he relocated from the UK to be closer to family in Australia and New Zealand, which gave him the opportunity to try freelancing.

Serina Stretton PhD, ISMPP CMPP™ is a certified medical publication professional with more than 20 years’ experience working with authors and clients globally and in the Asia Pacific region. Serina has published peer-reviewed research on publication misconduct, is a past-Convenor of the Medical Writing Interest Area Committee for ARCS Australia, and past-member of the Global Alliance for Publication Professionals.  Currently, Serina is Division Lead for Envision Pharma Group, based in Sydney Australia.

Jen has a BA in Psychology and a Diploma in Proofreading and Editing. She has a diverse background in pharmaceutical distribution customer service, recruitment, property administration and as a teaching assistant.

Jen currently works as a healthcare administrator and also provides content marketing and administrative support to the AMWA Executive Committee.

Email: marketing@medicalwriters.org