Hi everyone -
                Welcome to the final newsletter of 2019!  We hope that you have a great holiday season with family and friends. We're ready for a great year ahead!
              Whether it be by subscribing to our newsletter or blog, joining us at one of our Making an IMPACT events, or following us on social media, we hope you'll engage with us, and don't forget to call if you need us!  We're here to help.


Mark Cierpial, CEO
In This Issue:
Making an IMPACT
Past Events

In April & May, we collected clothing, hygiene items, and food for the Women's Shelter of Raleigh and the Durham Rescue Mission.
The proceeds of our hockey bracket challenge went to support the Humboldt Broncos.

We partnered with StepUp Durham to volunteer as mock interviewers during their Employment Readiness Workshop.
In July, Lori and Ann teamed up for the 6th annual Backpack Buddies food drive and set another new record by collecting 352 lbs of food!

In July & August, we participated in the 5th annual Crayons2Calculators drive and filled 4 bins with books for local schools.
We held a Spooky Service Auction for the CFF and raised over $3,000 by auctioning off our hidden talents.

We started our 4th annual Season of Giving by volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, painting walls, and staining a porch.

Ongoing Events
Season of Giving
Holiday Cards
Please help us spread some cheer to the residents of Chatham Commons Assisted Living Facility in Cary by signing Holiday cards. We'll also be delivering holiday treats.

Pet Shelter Donation
We will be collecting pet food (dry or canned dog and cat food), towels, kitty litter, and flea control for the animals at Durham County APS and goodies for the shelter volunteers.

You've Been Jingled
Our annual You've Been Jingled event will continue until we've spread holiday cheer to everyone!
Want to be part of our events?
Email Brandi or Laurel to join our
Making an IMPACT mailing list.
IMPACT on Health
Past Events
Spring Hike
We hiked and ate together at
Eno River State Park!

Meal Prep Sessions
Empower Employee Wellness Services presented their first two talks ("Meal Planning for Convenience and Optimal Health" and "Healthy Living for the Busy Professional") in a series of workshops meant to promote healthy living.

Bull Moon Ride & Run
IoH teamed up with MAI to participate in the Bull Moon Ride
& Run to support
Habitat for Humanity!

Recipe Swap
In the spirit of eating well, IoH created a recipe swapping tool so employees can swap healthy recipes for every lifestyle (ie, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc).

Meditation
We have added 'Meditation' to our 'Pop-up yoga' sessions!
Anyone interested in doing mediation and/or yoga is emailed an invitation with the time and location!
Upcoming Events
"Eight Cups a Day" Water Challenge
Get ready to be more hydrated
in the new year!

Meal Prep Sessions
Look out for the third installment in the Empower workshop series
in the spring.
IMPACT on Literacy
Past Events
Book Drive
In June, we donated 132 books to Book Harvest and supported literacy for children in need!

Book Club
In June, we discussed "Being Mortal , Medicine and What Matters in the End" by Atul Gawande.

In September, we discussed
"Napoleon's buttons -
How 17 Molecules Changed History" by P Le Couteur and J Burreson.

Holiday Reading Event
In December, we played games with and read short stories to the residents of Chatham Commons Assisted Living Facility in Cary.
Upcoming Events
Book Club
We will be discussing our next book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot,
on January 22, 2020.
Come Work
with IMPACT
We are always hiring Experienced Medical Writers! Check us out!

Need help with your projects? Check out our services and our case studies/testimonials!
Drug Development & IMPACT
Wonder Where You Can Find Us?
Round up of past appearances:
May 29, 2019: Nicole attended the Career Options for STEM Ph.D.s Networking Event for graduate students and postdocs from Duke, NIEHS, UNC, NCSU and NCCU, held at the NC Biotech Center.

September 9, 2019: IMPACT invited professionals hoping to learn more about medical writing to an Open House event!

September 19, 2019: Brandi attended the NCRAF "Transition to a Career in Pharma Regulatory Affairs" event.

September 25, 2019: Mark, Tim, and Nicole served on a panel for UNC students exploring careers outside of academia.

October 24, 2019: Brandi attended the NCRAF "U.S. Legislation and the Resulting Regulations/Guidances: The Odd Couple?" event.

November 6 - 9, 2019: Lori presented at the 2019 AMWA Medical Writing & Communication Conference with Lima Chutkan in San Diego, CA! Their talk was titled "Managing complex submissions: a case study".

November 7, 2019: Brandi hosted a discussion at the NCRAF Annual Roundtable event. Her topic was "From Benchtop to Desktop: Transitioning into Regulatory Writing".
Behind the Curtain at IMPACT
Promotions
Kathryn Tworkoski  is now the Head of Early Phase Drug Development!  Since she joined IMPACT in 2014, Kathryn has demonstrated fantastic writing and reviewing abilities, as well as amazing client-consulting skills. She has consistently received positive feedback from her colleagues and from Sponsors for her teamwork, the quality of her work and her critical assessment of data. Kathryn brings exceptional scientific perspective to every project she's on and has a fearless nature when it comes to tackling new, different, or complex documents.  In her "free" time, Kathryn also writes blog posts (garnering compliments from complete strangers on LinkedIn). As anyone who reads her posts knows, Kathryn has a knack for making complicated topics more easily digestible.
Nancy Gasper-Smith has been promoted to Principal Consultant, Medical Writing and Submission Management! Since joining IMPACT in 2010, she has been an integral part of this company. Nancy is a gifted writer with a keen eye for detail, which is why she became the Head of our QC group. In this role, she has transformed the way the QC process works at IMPACT. Nancy is one of our most experienced and talented NDA/BLA/MAA project managers, and the relationships she builds with her clients are remarkable. As a manager, Nancy embraces her role in helping to run the business while making sure those working with her feel valued, respected, and recognized for their achievements.

Ryan Overcash  is our new Head of the Medical Writing Fellowship Program! Since starting at IMPACT in 2016, he has managed large narrative and IND safety reporting projects. His willingness to try new projects and continuously be challenged has helped him develop into a well-rounded employee. As anyone who has been lucky enough to work with Ryan knows, he has a gift for mentoring  and has done an excellent job in his role as a senior reviewer. Ryan has found a balance for showing compassion and patience, while also encouraging growth and development.
Meet Our New Employees
Evan DuBose  joined us in July as a Medical Writing Fellow. She came to IMPACT from Cato Research, where she worked as a regulatory strategy intern. Evan recently received her PhD from the UNC Chapel Hill Department of Pharmacology. Her research entailed identifying novel treatment modalities for metastatic melanoma. In her time away from work, she enjoys crafting and traveling. She also loves attending basketball and baseball games.

Amanda Derr joined us in October as the Senior Vice President, Business Operations and CFO. Amanda hails from the coast of North Carolina, but she's been in the Triangle for over 20 years now. She came to us from Rho, where she was in a very similar business operations role. Outside of work, she can be found on the sidelines at her daughter's field hockey games, enjoying a high school (soon to be college!) musical theatre performance, or quietly reading southern fiction.

Jennifer Waters  joined us in November as a QC Specialist. She came to us after 18 years at Rho, Inc., where she transitioned from data management for several therapeutic areas to project management in coagulation disorders research. In her spare time she likes to read, try new breweries, and volunteer with a local cat shelter.
Meet Jenny's Team of Medical Writers
Back Row (Left to Right): Nick, Amritha, Abby, Brandi;
Front Row (Left to Right): Nicole, Laurel, Jenny; Not Pictured: Erin
Jenny Garver joined the IMPACT in 2010 and has been grateful for the wonderful professional opportunities each and every day since then. Jenny enjoys spending time with her family, creating memories at Bald Head Island, and taking long walks throughout her home town of Apex.

Nick Luciano joined IMPACT in 2017. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time and taking trips with his wife, playing disc golf with his dogs, eating good food, and watching Duke basketball and Penguins hockey.

Erin Peters joined IMPACT in 2017 and loves supporting a variety of sponsors and projects. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and spending time with her family and menagerie of pets.

Abby McLeod joined IMPACT in 2017. When she's not playing with her son, she enjoys field hockey, Duke basketball, and improv comedy.

Brandi Schuster joined IMPACT in 2018 after working in biopharmaceutical competitive intelligence. She enjoys spending time with her husband and dogs, cooking for others, and taking long walks.

Nicole Tackmann joined IMPACT in 2017 after working as a clinical strategy intern at Cato Research. She enjoys spending time with her husband and dog, hiking, cooking, and cheering for the Tar Heels.

Amritha Kidiyoor joined IMPACT in 2018. She enjoys reading novels, baking for other people, cooking, and spending time with her family.

Laurel Kartchner joined IMPACT in 2018 after graduating from UNC. Outside of work, she loves to be outside with her sons, play Ultimate Frisbee, rock climb, knit, crochet, travel, and bake gluten-free goodies.
IMPACTConnect
We participated in Take Your Dog to Work Day again this year!
We spent a beautiful (hot!) day at Jordan Lake enjoying barbecue, swimming, games, and each other's company.
IMPACT celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a swanky Casino Night at Little City Brewing and Provisions!
IMPACT on Social Media
Check out some of our recent blog posts and press releases featured on View our profile on LinkedIn LinkedIn and Follow us on Twitter Twitter!




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Main Line:  919.899.9248       
Physical Address:
79 TW Alexander Drive
Building 4401, Suite 100
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

Experience. Integrity. IMPACT.