
Hi, I’m Jacalyn Newman of JSN Medical Writing

After earning a microbiology PhD, I knew I wanted to work for a people-driven company. In my first industry role, I co-edited the departmental newsletter for a life sciences research company to communicate observed trends, in partnership with the sales team. For example, when many of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were unable to obtain proper results from a protein assay, I stepped up as the main point of contact regarding the company’s progress toward a solution. Due to their people-first philosophy, I had the authority and freedom to provide the client with factual advice about how to proceed, even if it meant taking their business elsewhere.
When given the opportunity to apply my leadership and communication skills in a new environment closer to my family, I began a new chapter that spanned 12 years teaching college biology. My approach to teaching was fun and hands-on. I once had 300 students sending beach balls around the auditorium to learn how a single hormone can affect different parts of the body depending on the nature of the target cell. Being given the opportunity to explain complex concepts in creative and interesting ways refined my communication skills and planted the seed for my subsequent medical writing career.
My ability to communicate effectively through analogies without losing the accuracy of the science is a throughline in my career as a researcher, writer, and teacher. Whether educating patients, training writers, or informing sales teams, I bring a breadth and depth of experience to make the complex accessible.
“You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.” -Albert Einstein
Textbook Editing and Study Guide Writing Experience
2003
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Reviewed Life, fifth edition by Lewis et al. for McGraw-Hill publisher
2004
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Reviewed Biology 7th ed. proofs by Raven, Johnson, Losos, & Singer for McGraw-Hill publisher
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Reviewed Biological Sciences, 2nd ed. proofs by Freeman for Prentice Hall publisher
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Reviewed Biology 7th ed. by Raven, Johnson, Losos, & Singer for McGraw-Hill publisher for preparation of the 8th edition.
2005
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Reviewed Campbell’s Biology 7th edition for publisher and compared it to Raven’s Biology 7th ed.
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Reviewed three chapters in Raven’s Biology 7th edition for the publisher.
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Reviewed proposed organization and topic coverage for Biology 1st ed by Brooker et al by McGraw-Hill Publisher.
2006
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Brooks/Cole review of one chapter in General Biology for Majors. (McGraw-Hill)
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Brooker et al, Biology 1st ed. I reviewed the Table of Contents for overall text design, One chapter critiqued in detail.
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Freeman publishing. Reviewed Table of Contents for a new Majors Biology text.
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Freeman publishing asked me to review a single chapter after seeing my comments on the table of contents for the same book
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Art review for 2 chapters in the 8th edition of Raven’s Biology.
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Freeman publishing. Reviewed five chapters for a new Majors Biology text.
2007
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Freeman’s Biological Science, revised 2nd edition. Reviewed chapter 8
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Art review for 10 chapters in 8th edition of Raven’s Biology.
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Wrote test bank questions in multiple formats for 5 chapters of Thompson publishing’s new biology textbook by Russell.
2008
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Wrote test bank questions in multiple formats for 2 chapters of Russell’s Biology by Thompson publishing.
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Reviewed detailed table of contents prospectus, and the overall organization of proposed textbook by Bedford, Freeman, and Worth publishers.
2009
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Reviewed 4 chapters of Sadava et al’s Life: The Science of Biology
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Reviewed 4 chapters of Russell et al’s Biology: The Dynamic Science by Cengage Learning
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Reviewed Detailed Table of Contents and one chapter of proposed text How Life Works for W.H. Freeman and Company
2010
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Authored revisions to 15 chapters of the study guide for Sadava et al. Life 9th edition
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Authored revisions to 15 chapters of online interactive quizzes for Sadava et al. Life 9th edition
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Proofread first-pass page-proofs of 1 chapter of Raven et al. Biology 9th ed and provided feedback on content accuracy.
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Proofread for the test bank and online quizzes for 4 chapters of Sadava et al. Life 9th. I provided feedback for the appropriateness, accuracy, and correct classification according to Bloom’s taxonomy for all questions.
2011
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Authored 6 study guide chapters to accompany Hillis et al. Principles of Life 1st edition
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Table of contents review of How Life Works 1st edition
2012
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Review of How Life Works 1st edition “How Do We Know?” feature.
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Reviewed the immunology chapter of Solomon/Berg/Martin Biology, 9th Edition