PACIFIC COAST CONFERENCE
ASILOMAR, CA, MAY 6–9, 2012
PROGRAM
CREDIT WORKSHOPS
Outlining for Writers and Editors (ES/EW/FL 2007)
Sue Hudson (Simi Valley, CA), Medical Writing Associates
Summarizing Clinical Safety Data for a New Drug Application (RR 4014)
Nancy Katz, PhD (Walnut Creek, CA), Illyria Consulting Group
Introduction to Cancer Biology (SM/SG 3511)
Catherine Magill, PhD (Palo Alto, CA), Magilla Consulting
Understanding and Reporting the Performance Characteristics of Diagnostic Tests (ADV 725)
Thomas Lang, MA (Kirkland, WA), Tom Lang Communications and Consulting International
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Thomas Lewis, MD (San Francisco)
UCSF School of Medicine, The Fromm Institute at USF
The Neural Basis of Creativity
OPEN SESSIONS
Frugal Innovation: Harnessing Social Entrepreneurship to Create Accessible, Affordable, and Appropriate Technologies for Emerging Markets
Radha Basu (Santa Clara, CA), Santa Clara University
Beyond Imagined Futures: Finding the Ethics in Science and Medicine
Sally Lehrman (Santa Clara, CA), Santa Clara University
Sleep Medicine
Michele Cao, MD (Stanford, CA), Stanford University School of Medicine
Looming Changes for Medical Devices
Jim Hudson (Simi Valley, CA), Medical Writing Associates
Regulatory Intelligence Writing Tips and Tricks
Meredith Brown-Tuttle, RAC (San Jose, CA), Instructor, Regulatory Affairs, UCSC Extension
Promoting Pharmaceuticals: the Agency Process and Its Pitfalls
Caitlin Burke (San Francisco, CA), Giant Creative Strategies
Inside PubMed
Lucy Ludwig (Menlo Park, CA), SRI International
Registration Opens Soon!
PAST CHAPTER EVENTS AND MEETINGS
August 20, 2011: We had a potluck at our Events Coordinator Catherine Magill's house in Palo Alto. Besides enjoying the company of people we don't see often enough, we (over)indulged in Catherine's wonderful chili and the sides and desserts contributed by the attendees.
April 23, 2011: Our fellow chapter member Jack Aslanian MD ELS is also a member of the European Medical Writers Association. He presented a brief introduction to and overview of Integrative Medicine.
September 26, 2010: Our chapter member and Secretary of the chapter's Board Joan Brodovsky shared important lessons from her consulting experience: how to structure a proposal for consulting work "...a proposal that doesn't bite back." She deconstructed the proposal-writing procedure in a series of steps that avoid the common pitfalls:
First, inform the decision-maker of the objective of the task in a clear, pithy sentence.
Second, present what will have to be done to prepare the deliverable, and if it's necessary, tell what limitations you will impose on the work. Explain sources of information that will and will not be used.
Third, put in the price and time, covering the situation that often arises--the client doesn't do their part on time--and give yourself space when committing to a delivery date.
Joan then gave some pointers on the language for the presentation, from the point of view of clarity and good grammar. And of course, we then adjourned for the social part of the meeting, for fellowship and networking. To say nothing of a great lunch!May 15, 2010: Mary Roach, a local science author whose unique ability is to combine good science and great writing, held a Q and A session with the attendees. A good example of her writing, if you've not yet read any of her three books, is Stiff: The Curious Life of Cadavers, which explores the human body, living and not, and concludes with some serious thoughts for all of us to consider.
March 20, 2010: Eileen Gambrill, PhD, UC Berkeley, met with us at the Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley, from 10:30-1:30. Eileen Gambril has been studying Social Anxiety Disorder, and we had a lively discussion following the presentation.
December 5, 2009: A seminar with Dr. Daryl Faulds, CEO of Gemmus Pharma, on a broad spectrum therapeutic for moderate to severe influenza infection that's under development at Gemmus.
September 20, 2009: Maggie Norris, our own Word Witch, treated us to a two-part presentation about the famous (or possibly, infamous, Normal-dot-dot. The first hour covered the nature of Word's Normal template, and the in second, we built a custom template (Maggie drove).
June 6, 2009: A wonderful presentation by Natalie Zensius and Amy Keller of the Center for Health Design (Concord, CA) about the application of evidence-based design to healthcare facilities. You can read a synopsis of their talk here.
April 26-29, 2009: Pacific Coast Conference at Asilomar, hosted by the Pacific-Southwest chapter. It was wonderful! Plan to join us next year, April 18-21, 2010.We'll be posting the PCC Archives page soon, for a taste of what went down at the 2008 and 2009 PCC.
BAY AREA EVENTS CALENDAR
The Bay Area offers a plethora of events of interest to people in biotech, pharma, medical device, and related industries. For a calendar of upcoming professional and educational events in biospace, visit the BioDevice Group's calendar of events.
OTHER EVENTS
Please note: AMWA Northern California chapter has no official relationship to "Other Events" listed in this section. Please contact the organizations linked in the entries for more information.
San Francisco Chapter STC Monthly Meeting
The STC San Francisco chapter usually has a monthly meeting during the third week of the month. First-timers can attend free with a coupon. Info for first-timers (PDF).
You can learn more at the SF STC site. Check out their Events list, too. Visit STC's national site for more information about the organization and its chapters.
National Association of Science Writers
NASW has a California affiliate, Northern California Science Writers Association, which offers workshops, quarterly dinners, and field trips.
