The 22nd Annual Meeting of ISMPP took place April 20-22 in Washington, D.C., bringing together medical publications and communications professionals from around the world to explore the theme, “The Integrated Era: Purpose, Partnerships, Personalization.”
The agenda featured plenary sessions and keynote addresses focused on the future of the profession, alongside specialized parallel sessions and hands-on workshops covering topics such as AI implementation, plain language summaries, and integrated evidence planning.
Interactive roundtable discussions created opportunities for candid peer-to-peer dialogue across more than 25 niche topics, including patient co-authorship, AI personas, and open-access mandates. Educational sessions emphasized balancing AI-driven efficiencies with human expertise, improving research discoverability in the evolving large language model landscape, and adopting “story-first” approaches to enhance data communication. Additional sessions explored strategic dissemination through social media and professional development opportunities tied to the CMPP™ credentialing journey.
The meeting also celebrated the continued global growth of the profession and reinforced the importance of international standards, certification, mentorship, and collaboration in supporting ethical and transparent medical communications worldwide.
Attendees left energized for the 23rd Annual Meeting of ISMPP, which will take place in Orlando, Florida, at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort. The new venue will provide expanded space for educational sessions, networking, posters, and exhibitors, creating new opportunities for collaboration and engagement.
For those who did not attend the Annual Meeting, ISMPP offers the following options to explore the sessions and member research posters presented at the 22nd Annual Meeting:
- Full Annual Meeting Compendium – generated with AI by Snapsight. This meeting compendium delivers strategic insights from the keynote and plenaries at the 22nd Annual Meeting—in a quick, easy-to-read format. Use it to review key moments in seconds, refresh your notes, or share learnings with colleagues.
- ISMPP members can access session slide decks approved for posting by presenters in the Session Archive.
- Member Research Posters are accessible to everyone in the open-access poster gallery.
“I felt engaged and seen at this meeting. The conversations broke down communication barriers between competitors so we could all learn and advance the field. The networking and seeing old friends is one of my absolute favorite things about this meeting, there is nothing like it!”
~2026 Annual Meeting Attendee
Two Keynote Speakers Highlighted Stakeholder Connections and Generative AI:
- Breaking Silos Without Breaking Trust: Leading Integrated Scientific Communication Across Stakeholders
- Kirk Shepard, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, PDS Biotechnology
- AI, Evidence, and the Future of Clinical Knowledge: How Information Reaches the Point of Care (Sponsored by Porterhouse Medical)
- James Phimister, OpenEvidence, Advisor to the CEO, Partnerships
Networking Highlights:
- First-Time Attendees & New Member Meet and Greet
- Welcome Reception
- Dedicated Breaks with Exhibitors
- Networking Luncheon
- Professional Excellence Awards
- Networking Reception
- Expert-Led Collaborative Workshops
- Interactive Roundtables
- Poster Reception
“This was my first ISMPP and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I came away with amazing feedback on what my company is doing (and what they can do better), and with some amazing ideas of what I can implement at my company to improve our publication practices and impact. I’m looking forward to coming back!“
~2026 Annual meeting attendee
Awards Night!
The fourth annual ISMPP Professional Excellence Awards Reception was held on Tuesday, April 21 at the 22nd Annual Meeting of ISMPP in Washington, DC.
The awards honor the work and dedication of members who have a proven track record of excellence and achievement in the medical publications and communications profession. Award nominations were collected through peer submissions and reviewed by the Professional Excellence Awards Selection Committee.
ISMPP was proud to recognize the following outstanding members for their achievements.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Rosie Lynch
The ISMPP Lifetime Achievement Award is the most prestigious award ISMPP can bestow on one of its members. It may be presented to a current member of ISMPP or emeritus member who has made notable and significant contributions with distinguished achievement to the Society, helping advance the medical publication and communication profession.
President’s Award: Jennifer Ghith
The President’s Award recognizes an ISMPP member who has distinguished themselves as “game-changers” or “transformational” in their service to the Society.
Outstanding Committee Member Award: Andrew Shepherd
The Outstanding Committee Member Award recognizes individuals who have served or are serving on an ISMPP Committee(s) and recognizes the outstanding efforts and work the individual has put forth.
CMPP™ Award: Meredith Rogers
The CMPP™ Award is designed to recognize a current ISMPP CMPP™ who not only exemplifies the roles and responsibilities of a CMPP but also makes a profound impact on the CMPP Program through their work on Program activities including, but not limited to, committee work, exam development, program policies, and mentorship. This award underscores a steadfast commitment to ethical and transparent data dissemination standards, and leadership in upholding and fostering integrity and excellence in medical publications.
Rising Star Award: Laura Watts
The Rising Star Award may be presented to ISMPP members with no more than five years of experience in the profession who have demonstrated significant contributions to medical publication and communication. It is meant to recognize “future leaders” within the Society.
“As a new vendor to publications, it was a good networking and learning experience to understand some of the fundamental strengths and areas for improvement in this area. Also, looking at controversial issues that are being worked on. All in all, well worth the time and effort to attend.“
~2026 Annual Meeting Attendee
Member Research Posters, Oral Presentations, and Award Winners
This year ISMPP was thrilled to feature more than 65 posters with the latest member research during the Annual Meeting of ISMPP. Posters were adjudicated and we were pleased to announce the poster winners for Best Original Research, Most Reflective of Meeting Theme, Best Visual and Accessible Design, and Future Forward Research.
Board of Trustees – Welcome and Thank You!
The 2026-2027 ISMPP Board of Trustees initiated its term during the 22nd Annual Meeting. Congratulations to Stephanie Tortell who assumed the role of ISMPP Chair! Diane Stothard transitioned to Immediate Past Chair.
The following individuals were elected to their positions:
- Chair-Elect: Faith DiBiasi, Senior Director, BPM Evidence Publications, Respiratory & Immunology, AstraZeneca
- Secretary: Rob Pilbrow, Senior Director, Europe, Syneos Health Communications
- At-Large Trustee: Ana Bozas, Director, Clinical Evidence Strategy and Scientific Communications, Vera Therapeutics
- Asia Pacific Trustee: Atsuko Iwata, Global Scientific Communications – Japan Publication, Eli Lilly Japan
- European Trustee: Hamish McDougall, Senior Publishing Solutions Manager, Sage Publications
- Nominating Committee (non-voting): Priya Miranda, Director, Worldwide Medical Oncology, Medical Communications, Bristol Myers Squibb
With Great Appreciation!
We extend a heartfelt thank you to the 2026 Annual Meeting Program Committee – and to Kris Schuler, Chair, and Dana Fox McInerney, Vice-Chair, of the 2026 Program Committee – for their leadership in developing highly-regarded content for medical communication professionals.
A special appreciation is due to Sharon Willis and the rest of the ISMPP educational content team, Deidra Renahan, for her meeting management, and the entire ISMPP staff for their meeting support.
A Sincere Thank You to our Champion Sponsors that registered 10 or more staff members from their company to attend the meeting.
Our appreciation to The Publication Plan, our media partner for the 22nd Annual Meeting.
We are grateful to our exhibitors and sponsors for their generous support of the 22nd Annual Meeting! We appreciate your contributions to make this meeting a success.
In honor of our esteemed faculty for the 22nd Annual Meeting, ISMPP is proud to donate to BioBus, a nonprofit dedicated to helping students excluded from the scientific community discover, explore, and pursue science!
Mark Your Calendar – Upcoming ISMPP Meetings!
- 2026 Asia Pacific Meeting of ISMPP – 17 September 2026; Hong Kong
- ISMPP Academy – September 29-30, 2026; Philadelphia, PA
- 2027 European Meeting of ISMPP – January 25-27, 2027; London, UK
- 23rd Annual Meeting of ISMPP – May 3-5, 2027; Orlando, FL
