Our Team

Acumen brings a host of talented individuals to serve our clients. Our network includes over 50 contributors to handle projects of any size and scope.

*Contractor

Board of Managers

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    Justin McLaughlin

    Chief Executive Officer and Founder

    With leadership in medical writing and product development, Justin oversees Acumen’s services and software development.

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    Virginia Kelly

    Chief Medical Officer and Founder

    A board-certified hematologist/oncologist, Virginia provides strategic medical and clinical development support.

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    Michael Claffey

    Chief Operating Officer

    Having led medical writing teams for over a decade, Michael heads Acumen’s medical writing services.

Senior Management

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    Kelly Danyow

    Senior Director of Editorial Services

    With more than 12 years of experience editing and writing technical documents, Kelly oversees Acumen’s editorial services and document QC.

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    Pamela Harvey

    Senior Director of
    Publications and Medical Affairs


    With 20 years of research experience in neuroscience and molecular biology, Pamela specializes in writing nonclinical and clinical publications and supports the development of regulatory documents.

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    Tim Henion

    Senior Director of Nonclinical Medical Writing

    A seasoned research scientist and nonclinical writer, Tim oversees Acumen’s nonclinical writing.

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    Vipul Kalwani

    Chief Technology Officer

    With leadership in software engineering and architecture, Vipul oversees Acumen’s technology strategy and engineering organization.

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    Bruce Pierce

    Senior Director of Product Development

    With over 20 years’ experience in software development, Bruce leads Acumen’s product development.

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    Fernando Venegas

    Senior Director of Project Management & Quality Assurance

    Fernando leads Acumen’s Project Management and Quality functions, guiding teams that support regulatory submissions from planning through execution. He brings nearly three decades of experience across pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical organizations in highly regulated environments.

Medical Writers

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    Janna Afanasjeva*

    Senior Medical Writer

    Janna has over 10 years of medical writing, with PharmD and drug information background. She specializes in regulatory writing and scientific publications.

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    Elin Agoston*

    Managing Medical Writer

    With a background as a research cancer biologist, Elin authors a wide range of nonclinical documents, both for regulatory and publications.

  • Patrick Barry*

    Lead Medical Writer

    Having worked in medical and scientific communications for 10+ years, Patrick has extensive experience of clinical content development across several therapeutic areas, with a focus in hematology/oncology and rare diseases.

  • Crystal Bethel

    Crystal Bethel*

    Lead Medical Writer

    Crystal Bethel, PhD, MBA, is a Regulatory Medical Writer with over a decade of experience supporting pharma and biotech companies through the authorship and QC of CSRs, protocols, IBs, DSURs, PSURs, and other ICH-compliant documents. She combines deep technical expertise with strong project management and communication skills to deliver submission-ready documents that meet the highest regulatory standards. 

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    Jen Bracy*

    Lead Medical Writer

    Leveraging her background in molecular immunology and over 15 years of analytical experience, Jennifer authors both clinical and nonclinical regulatory documents and publications.

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    Leslie Bransfield*

    CMC Writer

    With a background in chemistry and 15 years of experience in CMC, Leslie has expertise in authoring a wide range of CMC regulatory documents.

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    Laney Casella

    Medical Writer

    Laney has 10 years of biomedical engineering research experience and contributes to Acumen’s clinical and non-clinical writing projects.

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    Nate Connors*

    Lead Medical Writer

    Nate is a veteran medical affairs professional specializing in medical affairs publication planning and content development.

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    Elizabeth Conway*

    Medical Writer

    Liz is a Registered Nurse with 8 years of clinical oncology research experience and over 10 years of regulatory/medical writing and QC experience.

  • Lisa Cournoyer*

    CMC Writer

    With a background in analytical chemistry and over 10 years of CMC writing experience, Lisa's authoring expertise includes early and late-stage CMC documents for small molecules, biologics, and antibody-drug conjugates.

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    Jacquie Cronin*

    Lead Medical Writer

    Jacquie is a lead medical writer with over 18 years of experience writing clinical regulatory documents and publications.

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    Caroline David

    Senior Medical Writer

    Caroline is an experienced research scientist who contributes to nonclinical and clinical writing and project management.

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    Mia DeFino*

    Lead Medical Writer

    Mia is a medical writer and project manager with a background in pharmacology and translational science who supports clinical publications and regulatory submissions.

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    Dayna Deuter*

    Lead Medical Writer

    With 18 years of medical writing experience, Dayna has deep experience writing regulatory documents, with a focus on oncology, rare disease, and gene therapy submissions.

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    Mary Donoghue*

    Senior Medical Writer

    Mary is a clinical writer with an extensive scientific background and experience across multiple regulatory document types, including patient narratives.

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    David Gennert

    Lead Medical Writer

    Dave supports Acumen's Publications and Medical Affairs team as a Lead Medical Writer, helping transform complex scientific data into clear, impactful communications. He brings a strong background in medical writing and a passion for delivering high-quality, client-focused work.

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    Erin Graham

    Managing Medical Writer

    Erin is a lead medical writer with a background in nonclinical writing for gene therapy programs. Erin also draws on her experience as a former analytical development scientist and technical compliance specialist for GMP testing and manufacturing.

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    Phil Hamilton*

    Managing Medical Writer

    As a lead medical writer for Acumen, Phil is able to bring his 20+ years of experience to clinical document preparation.

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    Diana Henzel*

    Medical Writer and Narrative Writer

    With a background in clinical pharmacy, Diana has worked in multiple therapeutic areas, authoring and supporting a wide range of regulatory documents, including patient safety narratives.

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    Renee Jean-Toussaint*

    Senior Medical Writer

    Renee is an experienced preclinical pharmacologist with a drug discovery background. She has extensive experience in scientific communication in multiple therapeutic areas and supports nonclinical and regulatory writing. 

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    Molly Jenkins*

    Lead Medical Writer

    With almost 20 years of experience researching, writing, and reviewing advanced concepts in biomedical sciences, Molly has expertise preparing nonclinical regulatory documents and publications.

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    Robin Johnson*

    Narrative Writer and Lead Medical Writer

    Robin Johnson is a pharmacist with over 15 years of experience as a regulatory medical writer. Robin has written a wide variety of clinical documents, from BLA/MAA submissions to CSRs to briefing books to patient narratives, with a focus in gene therapy and oncology.

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    Sarah Keates*

    Medical Writer

    Sarah is a medical writer with experience in both basic science and clinical research. She supports clinical and nonclinical documents and publications.

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    Petra Langerak*

    Lead Medical Writer

    With a background in immunology, molecular biology, and drug discovery, Petra contributes to a wide range of clinical documents.

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    Lindsay Larkin*

    Senior Medical Writer

    With over 10 years editing biomedical content, Lindsay supports both Acumen's clinical writing and editing.

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    Marissa Leonard

    Narrative Project Manager and Senior Medical Writer

    As a Narrative Writer, Marissa helps transform complex clinical data into clear, accurate patient narratives that support regulatory submissions. She brings experience across a variety of regulatory writing projects and a passion for high-quality scientific communication.

  • Silvia Licciulli*

    Senior Medical Writer

    With a research background in cancer biology and extensive experience in scientific communication, Silvia supports Acumen's nonclinical writing

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    Alice Lim*

    Senior Medical Writer

    Alice is a medical writer with a cancer cell biology background who supports nonclinical publications and regulatory submissions.

  • Erik MacLaren

    Erik MacLaren*

    Medical Writer

    Erik has a background in pharmacology and neuroscience as well as 12 years of experience as a medical writer. He specializes in clinical and non-clinical publications and other communications for professional audiences.

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    Beth Miller*

    Senior Medical Writer

    Beth has been a medical writer for 17 years, with experience in multiple therapeutic areas and regulatory document types, including patient safety narratives.

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    Kris Nelson*

    Narrative Medical Writer

    Kris has over 20 years of pharma/biotech experience specializing in drug safety and narrative writing, having authored over 30,000 narratives.

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    Monica Nicosia*

    Medical Writer

    Monica has 25+ years of medical writing experience across many therapeutic areas. She supports scientific publications and other biomedical communications.

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    Kathleen Ohleth*

    Lead Medical Writer

    Kathleen has over two decades of experience in publication planning and development, medical/scientific content, and advisory boards.

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    Jessica Olive*

    Medical Writer

    With a research background in cancer biology, Jessica has over 8 years of experience as a medical writer and editor in many therapeutic areas. She provides support for Acumen in publications and medical affairs.

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    Pratheeba Palasuberniam

    Lead Medical Writer

    Pratheeba is a lead medical writer with a background in pharmacology and toxicology. She supports nonclinical submissions and brings prior experience as a GLP Study Director and regulatory writer.

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    Courtneay Parsons*

    Lead Medical Writer

    In her nearly 20 years of experience as a medical writer, editor, and team leader, Courtneay has worked across multiple clinical document types and therapeutic areas.

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    Tara Rachinsky*

    Medical Writer

    Tara draws on her experience in pharmacology, neuroscience, and molecular biology to develop publications and other biomedical communications across multiple therapeutic areas.

  • Mithun Raje*

    CMC Writer

    Mithun has a background in medicinal chemistry and regulatory CMC with several years of CMC authoring experience with a particular focus on small molecules.

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    Denise Robles

    Narrative PM

    Denise leverages 10 years of research experience in biomedical engineering and neuroscience to support clinical regulatory documentation and publications and medical affairs at Acumen.

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    Sara Rubio*

    Senior Medical Writer

    Sara supports Acumen's medical writing activities by leveraging her expertise in publications and other medical communications deliverables across multiple therapeutic areas.

  • Colleen Ruffin*

    CMC Writer

    Colleen has a background in biochemistry and formulation development with over 10 years of experience authoring a wide range of CMC regulatory documents.

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    Sarah Ryan*

    Senior Medical Writer

    With a background as a research scientist, Sarah supports clinical and nonclinical documents.

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    Amanda Sidwell

    Medical Writer

    With a neuroscience background, Amanda supports clinical regulatory documentation as well as publications and medical affairs for Acumen.

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    Aaron Slyman

    Senior Medical Writer

    After completing his PharmD in 2019, Aaron Slyman brings over seven years of medical writing and communications experience, supporting regulatory document development and leading software business development efforts.

  • Keri Vargo Metzger

    Senior Medical Writer

    Keri is a nonclinical writer with over 17 years of experience in the QC and production of toxicology reports and SEND datasets. 

  • Jenna Walz*

    CMC Writer

    Jenna leverages her PhD in Chemistry and 8 years of experience in CMC technical writing to translate complex scientific information into high-quality regulatory documentation, especially for Modules 3 and 2.3 of the CTD.

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    Hilary Weismiller

    Medical Writer and Editor

    Hilary leverages her background as a research scientist and project manager to support Acumen's writing and QC teams.

Medical Editors

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    Jamie Spagnuolo

    Manager, Editorial Services

    With 5 years’ experience editing medical content, Jamie supports both Acumen's editing and medical writing services.

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    Louise Adam

    Lead Editor

    Louise is a scientific/medical editor with 20 years of experience, with a background in clinical genetics. She is a BELS Diplomate and CIEP advanced professional member.

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    Elizabeth Knight*

    Editor

    Elizabeth uses her experience as a chemist, project manager, and science editor as a member of Acumen's editorial and QC services team.

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    Kim Marcozzi

    Lead Editor

    With more than 5 years of experience in technical editing and publishing, Kim supports Acumen's editorial and QC team.

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    Allison Matia

    Editor

    Allison has 10 years of experience in scientific research and communications and supports Acumen’s editorial and QC services team.

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    Lori Mongon*

    Editor

    With over 10 years of regulatory writing and QC experience in multiple therapeutic areas, authoring and supporting a wide range of regulatory documents, Lori supports Acumen's clinical writing, patient narratives, and editing groups.

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    Katie Pfaff*

    Editor

    Katie Pfaff is a medical editor and science communications professional with more than 15 years of experience supporting regulatory, clinical, and scientific content across a wide range of therapeutic areas, with expertise in ensuring accuracy, consistency, and submission readiness.

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    Laura Pringle

    Editor

    Laura is a medical writer with a background in Health Sciences who supports Acumen’s writing and QC teams with regulatory and clinical document submissions.

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    Nick Sargent

    Editor II

    With over six years of editorial experience, including three in medical editing, Nick supports Acumen’s QC and editorial services.

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    Carolyn Whiston*

    Senior Editor

    With over 25 years of experience in medical editing and document quality review across multiple therapeutic areas and phases of development, Carolyn supports Acumen's editorial and QC team.

Project and Submission Management

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    Madelyn Mauterer

    Project Manager

    Madelyn leverages her experience in regulatory medical writing and cross functional project leadership to support Acumen’s clients across a variety of therapeutic areas.

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    Mandy Munsch

    Project Manager

    Mandy leverages her background in biomedical engineering research to support project management and clinical writing at Acumen.

Regulatory Affairs

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    Katie Kane*

    Regulatory Affairs Consultant

    Katie is a Regulatory Affairs consultant with over 25 years of experience across devices, biologics, and drugs and a range of indications.

Internal Support

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    Dora Blake-McLaughlin

    Finance Manager

    Dora leads Acumen’s finance and human resources.

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    Vanessa Hoercher

    HR Manager

    With over 25 years of Human Resources experience, Vanessa knows Acumen’s success stems from the well-being and achievements of its people. She supports the company’s growth mindset and commitment to the human element that drives culture and impact.

Software

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    Alli Trenor

    Solutions Specialist

    Alli started her career in Conservation Biology and moved into the healthcare sphere in a Solutions and Customer Success focused role. 

Clinical Trials Disclosure

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    Kim Green*

    Clinical Trials Disclosure

    Kim has 15 years of experience writing and reviewing clinical documents and managing global teams and has substantial expertise in clinical trial transparency and disclosure.

Graphic Design

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    Jamie Hefley*

    Multimedia Specialist

    Jamie Hefley is a biomedical illustrator who specializes in creating figures, animations, and graphics that transform complex scientific information into clear, engaging visuals for publication and medical communication.

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    Gretchen Place*

    Graphic Designer

    With over 25 years of experience, Gretchen specializes in leveraging medical illustration and graphic design to effectively communicate complex scientific narratives for the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries.

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    John Welle*

    Senior Graphic Designer

    John has spent 20 years as a technical writer and graphic designer, leading Acumen’s graphical services for posters and publications.

Sales and Marketing

  • Aaron Slyman

    Software Business Development Lead

    After completing his PharmD in 2019, Aaron Slyman brings over seven years of medical writing and communications experience, supporting regulatory document development and leading software business development efforts.