American Medical Writers Association Southwest Chapter
HomeAboutAwardsEventsNewsOfficersMediaLinksContactSearch

AMWA Officers

Hope J. Lafferty, AM, ELS
Director-at-Large

Professional title & affiliation

Chief Writer and Life Science Editor
Hope Lafferty Communications
Marfa, TX

Professional background

Hope began working as a medical editor at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York in 2002 and moved to Far West Texas in 2009 to work for herself. Her subject specialties include urologic oncology (primarily prostate cancer), patient-reported outcomes, complementary and alternative medicine, bioinformatics and database development, and behavioral sciences. She works with non-native English speakers, enjoys table and database design, and was a contributing editor for the 10th edition of the AMA Manual of Style. Hope has written and coordinated NIH and DOD grants, foundation reports, patient education materials, manuscripts, web sites, and standard operating procedures (SOPs). As a writer and former psychotherapist, Hope is fascinated by the communication between authors and editors (both on and off the page) and focuses on practical and often overlooked methods to create effective, long-standing collaborations.

Other professional affiliations/offices held

  • American Medical Writers Association (2003–)
  • Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (2006–)
  • Drug Information Association (2006–)
  • International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (2009–)
  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Editorial Association, Founding Member (2003–2009)
  • Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium, Executive Committee (2005–2009)

Education & certifications

  • A.B., Psychology and Sociology, Boston College
  • A.M., Social Service Administration: Clinical Concentration, The University of Chicago

Training/courses/certifications

  • Certificate in Medical Writing and Editing (The University of Chicago) 2008
  • AMWA Core Curriculum Program (W/E) 2007
  • ELS, Board of Editors in the Life Sciences 2006

Presentations/publications

  • Manuscript editing short course: the author-editor relationship. Council of Science Editors Annual Meeting, 2009 [panelist].
  • Kristaponis B, Lafferty HJ, Lui G. Databases for tracking your mega-grants. AMWA Journal. 2006:21,53 [abstract].
  • Ulbricht C, Brendler T, Gruenwald J, Kligler B, Keifer D, Abrams TR, Woods J, Boon H, Kirkwood CD, Hackman DA, Basch E, Lafferty HJ. Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.): an evidence-based systematic review by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration. J Herb Pharmacother. 2005:5,71-114 [review]

Quote

Improving the quality of writing actually improves the quality of thought. -- Gopen & Swan

Home | About AMWA | Awards | Events | Officers | News | Links | Contact

Specific content posted on this Web site is under the control of the Southwest Chapter of AMWA.
Such information is the direct responsibility of the Southwest Chapter and not the national AMWA organization.