A Flock of Scientists is excited to announce that Dr. Jeff Ricker has been invited by the American Medical Writers Association to serve on its Annual Conference Program Committee. This committee oversees the educational program offered at each annual AMWA conference. The next conference will be held in Baltimore, Maryland from October 25 to October 28. Jeff looks forward to serving on this important committee. 

On October 3, Jeffry Ricker, Ph.D., Ms. Rosa Calderon, and Dean Colston, PhD, MA had a terrific time speaking with Dr. Ari Grayson's architecture students at Saddleback College https://lnkd.in/gx8-HB-u. We discussed architecture, inclusive design, and accessibility through the lens of vision loss and blindness. We specifically addressed retinal conditions, such as retinal detachments and retinitis pigmentosa. We also covered blindness, Charles Bonnet syndrome, and more. We believe that designing buildings for people who are visually impaired and blind results in architecture that's even better than current standard designs. Inclusive design focuses on the process of designing for diversity where spaces are accessible to all. And it stresses the importance of consulting with a wide range of people. Image Description: Tactile paving on footpath for people who are blind. 

We at A Flock of Scientists, LLC, are honored to have our article published in the AMWA Journal. It's titled Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Embraces Accessibility. The authors are Dean Colston, PhD, MA; Dr. Rebecca A. Fein; Killian Kleffner, PhD; and Vanessa Saunders, PhD.

We also want to congratulate the other authors and look forward to reading their manuscripts.

The AMWA Journal is a nationally circulated, peer-reviewed publication of the American Medical Writers Association that aims to be the authoritative, comprehensive source of information about knowledge, skills, and opportunities in the field of medical communication worldwide. You can find out article Volume 37 Number 3, Fall 2022

A Flock of Scientists' is very proud to announce the appointment of our very own Dr. Dean Colston as President-Elect and Program Chair of the American Medical Writer's Association Southwest Chapter! 

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We are confident that Dr. Dean will lead with integrity, energy, and creativity. 

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A Flock of Scientists' Dr. Dean Colston presented at the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) Southwest Chapter webinar on June 28, 2022. The title of his presentation was Inclusive Leadership: Developing a Diverse Talent Pipeline of Medical Communicators.

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Summary:
Would you like to become a more inclusive leader? Are you a first-time medical communication manager? Organizations are rapidly changing, and the idea of diversity and inclusion is continuously evolving in the workplace. Today, you'll need a modern set of skills to achieve leadership success.

In this webinar, you'll discover how to use inclusive leadership to develop a diverse talent pipeline of medical communicators. I'll also share some tips on how to create an environment of psychological safety and an empathetic organizational culture. Finally, you'll gain insight from 3 AMWA Southwest Chapter Presidents on how their volunteer roles helped develop their leadership skills.

A Flock of Scientists' Dr. Rebecca Fein launched a  science webseries Everyday Science with Dr. Rebecca and Friends (as seen on Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV). 

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You can now view the entire series on youtube! Happily, other members of A Flock of Scientists were invited for guest appearances! . 

Great work Dr. Rebecca! 

View the series here:  https://youtu.be/KTPyj265eGE

We at A Flock of Scientists, LLC, are delighted to share that our article titled "Start Your Evolution" was published in the inaugural issue of the Windrose, a publication for the coaching & wellness industries.
With this article, we hope to give you a little more insight into some of the ways the gut microbiota impact daily life.
We encourage and empower you to define your personal evolution by making choices that promote a healthy gut.
Please read our article at https://lnkd.in/eEbH3suB.

A Flock of Scientists' Dr. Dean Colston presented at the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) Southwest Chapter virtual roundtables and annual meeting on June 23, 2021. The title of his presentation was Creating Happiness at Work and in Your Personal Life by Leveraging Positive Psychology.

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What is happiness? How do scientists define happiness? How can you increase your happiness quotient in your personal life and at work? In this roundtable, participants learned practical strategies for tapping into and nurturing their own happiness. Dr. Dean's discussion drew on positive psychology and its rigorous research. With a focus on information sharing and personal transformation, this roundtable evoked valuable insights into what contributes to a happy, fulfilling personal and work life.
 

A Flock of Scientists' Dr. Dean Colston presented at the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) Southwest Chapter Virtual Conference on April 24, 2021. The title of his presentation was Elevate Your Social Media And Health Communication Strategies By Leveraging Accessibility Best Practices.

Participants learned why medical communicators on social media should make web accessibility a top priority. They also learned about accessibility best practices and how these guidelines can enhance their healthcare social media content and web interactions for users with disabilities. Finally, Dr. Dean discussed how web accessibility best practices can boost your SEO, broaden your audience, and amplify your message.

A Flock of Scientists' Dr. Rebecca Fein presented at the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) Southwest Chapter webinar on August 25, 2022. The title of her presentation was Calm Crisis Communication: Medical Communications for Emerging Infectious Diseases

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Summary:

Would you like to provide calm, clear communication in response to emerging infectious disease? Have you noticed that Monkeypox shocked the world by showing up in populations outside of men who have sex with men, because somehow the message was communicated that no other populations needed to worry about it? Were you wondering if you should wear 2 or 3 masks to prevent COVID-19 infections? In this webinar, you will learn about common mistakes and best practices to keep your calm when discussing emerging public health threats.

Congratulations to A Flock of Scientists' Drs. Dean Colston and Jeffry Ricker for two successful roundtable discussions at the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) Conference on April 30, 2022: 

Accessibility Is More Than Readability: Patient Education for Those with Disabilities, led by Jeffry Ricker, PhD
How to Deal with Difficult People in Business and in Your Personal Life, led by Dean Colston, PhD, MA

A Flock of Scientists is proud to announce our recent collaboration with Guest Author Ri Xu, PhD! Ri Xu is a medical writer passionate about conveying scientific information to general audiences. Check out her website (www.xurimedical.com) for more of her writing services, or directly contact her at ri.xu@xurimedical.com! Download our collaborative article, THE TOUGH JOURNEY TO YOU: HOW THE COVID-19 VACCINE PROVES ITSELF here.

A Flock of Scientists was asked to contribute to the Spring 2021 issue of ForeSight, the Arizona Council of the Blind newsletter. We learned a lot ourselves delving into the different types of COVID vaccines, ethics, accessibility issues, and logistical barriers. You can read the article in full here.

The Kid Factory asked our resident neuroscientist Dr. Killian Kleffner to join their podcast for an interview about emotional brain development. Dr. Killian really enjoyed making complex neuroscience research accessible to adolescents and their parents. Check out the companion infographic Dr. Killian designed! 

The episode is LIVE here.

A Flock of Scientists' Dr. Rebecca Fein has been awarded a Coronovation 2020 Award from the World Business Institute for her work with Dr. Kalankesh designing an app to allow patients to track their COVID–19 experience and provide the real time data to researchers. 

Keep up the great work, Dr. Rebecca!