Executive Committee

  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: president@medicalwriters.org

Ciara Duffy, PhD is a certified medical publication professional (CMPP™) working as a Senior Medical Writer at Envision Pharma Group. Through her work she delivers high-quality, scientifically accurate, and compliant content for projects to support global pharmaceutical clients. She is also a member of ISMPP (International Society for Medical Publication Professionals). Ciara completed her PhD at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, and the University of Western Australia, where she investigated the anticancer effects of honeybee venom for the treatment of breast cancer. Outside of writing, Ciara loves running, cooking, and practicing French. 

Email: vicepresident@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.

Email: secretary@medicalwriters.org

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.

Email: treasurer@medicalwriters.org

Erin is a freelance content and SEO copywriter specialising in corporate, technical, and medical communications. She also works with an SEO agency to create website content and blog articles for the health and professional services sectors. In addition to AMWA she is an active committee member of IPEd (Institute of Professional Editors) Awards & Prizes, and—on behalf of her toddler son—the Woodend Playgroup. Outside of writing, she's a budding floriculturist, propagating and selling cottage garden flowers through her e-commerce store.

With a Bachelor's in Health Promotion from Deakin University, Tracey has a passion for raising awareness about ways people can lead healthier lifestyles and for improving community health literacy so that people can be empowered to make decisions to benefit their health. She writes feature articles on health and wellbeing, which have been featured in publications including The Age, The Guardian, Women's Health Magazine and SBS Food. She also writes feature articles for pharmaceutical publications and content for health brands.   

Halimat Chisom Atanda is a biomedical researcher and writer with a background in biotechnology and cancer bioinformatics. She enjoys making complex scientific information accessible to diverse audiences, especially through plain-language summaries and figuring out the best-fitting analogy. Outside work, she enjoys reading paranormal novels and trying new recipes. She hopes to stay connected to the medical writing community and contribute to its growth through the AMWA committee.

Cam gained his PhD in immunology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tasmania, later working in transplant immunology and viral vaccine development in Melbourne. Moving into research management, he spent time at La Trobe University, RMIT (Melbourne) and the Royal Children’s Hospital (Melbourne), managing institutional Human Research Ethics Committees and performance of research faculties. For four years he was an original team member of the Victorian Government’s Coordinating Office for Clinical Trial Research. Along the way, he has studied public health, patents & trademarks, and helped biotech startups with their research design. He is primary caregiver to his two young children, and when they let him, he now provides writing support and advice to researchers and research organisations in Australia and overseas. 

Marie Cheeseman has been a medical writer for more than 20 years and is currently a freelance publications specialist. She works with medical communications agencies and their pharmaceutical company clients to develop scientific publications and other communication materials across a range of therapeutic areas. In addition to her involvement with AMWA, Marie is the board chair of two local schools and has a keen interest in education governance. She enjoys playing hockey and spends much of her spare time ferrying her four children between sports fields across Auckland.

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

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

Email: marketing@medicalwriters.org