Delivering clarity and excellence

Janet Salisbury

BSc(Hons), PhD, ELS, AE

Founder

Skills: Janet, Biotext’s founder, is a leader in Australian scientific writing and editing, and she has been involved with many projects on issues of national and international significance.

Qualifications: Janet has a PhD in experimental oncology from Manchester University, United Kingdom, and worked in cancer research at St George’s Hospital Medical School, London (1976–⁠82), the University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine (1983–⁠84) and the John Curtin School of Medical Research (1986–⁠88).

She is a qualified Editor in the Life Sciences (Board of Editors of the Life Sciences, 2003) and an Accredited Editor (Australian Institute of Professional Editors, 2009). She is also a member of the Australian Science Communicators (ASC).

Experience: Janet started her consultancy, writing and editing work in 1990. Over the past 25 years, Janet has researched, written or edited proceedings and reports for government departments and agencies, nongovernment organisations and academic institutions.

Janet has a particular interest in evidence-based practice and has worked with Australia’s top experts in evidence-based medicine. She has also worked closely with the National Health and Medical Research Council to develop methods for assessing health evidence for clinical practice and public health guidelines. In the early 2000s, she was one of the first in the world to suggest the application of evidence-based practice methodology to environmental management.

Janet is Founder and Director of the Women’s Climate Congress.

Dr Richard Stanford

BVA, Grad Dip VA, MVA, PhD

Director, Content Specialist

Skills: Richard is a visual information design specialist, with extensive experience in science communication, content development, publishing, data visualisation and design.

Qualifications: Richard has a PhD in new media and cross-disciplinary studies between science and art from the University of New South Wales. Richard was awarded the HC Coombes Fellowship at the Australian National University. He is Adjunct Fellow at Macquarie University and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Experience: Throughout his career, Richard has worked on a wide variety of science-based visualisation and technical communication projects, including working with some of Australia’s top scientists. He studied in residency at the Pearson Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience, UNSW, to gain insights into aspects of vision, attention and interaction. He has worked on three Australia State of the Environment reports and won an international Summit technical communication award for this work. Richard is publisher for the Australian manual of style launched in 2020.

Richard has worked on many large content and publication projects of national significance with Australian Government departments and agencies, academic institutions and research organisations.

Caitlin Whiteman

BA(Hons), GradDipSocResearch, GradDipPubComms, AE

Senior Content Developer

Skills: Caitlin is a writer, editor and content designer with deep plain English expertise. Driven by empathy for users, Caitlin works on both the structure and detail of content to make information easy to find, understand and use.

Qualifications: Caitlin has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Graduate Diplomas in communications and social research. She is an Accredited Editor with the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) and member of the Australian Society for Technical Communication, the Plain Language Association InterNational (PLAIN) and Clarity, the international association for plain language and the law.

Experience: Before joining Biotext in 2023, Caitlin ran her own plain language consultancy for 8 years. With a particular focus on complex and technical content, Caitlin wrote and edited print and digital content on topics such as health, aged care, environment, competition law and financial services regulation. She also developed and delivered training on research report writing and plain English editing. More recently, Caitlin has worked as a content strategist and content designer, researching, planning and writing web content for government, corporate and university clients.

Dr Julie Irish

BSc(Hons), MPH, PhD, AE, ELS

Chief Executive Officer, Principal Health Content Developer and Strategist

Skills: Julie is an experienced content strategist, content designer and writer who specialises in health and biomedical science. She brings a user-centred approach to her work, ensuring that technical health and medical content meets both user needs and organisational goals. She advises on content strategy, conducts content-focused user research and testing, and creates high-quality content for her clients.

Qualifications: Julie has a PhD in microbiology and molecular biology, a research background in antimicrobials and immunobiology, and a Master of Public Health. She is an Editor in the Life Sciences (Board of Editors in the Life Sciences, US), an Accredited Editor (Australian Institute of Professional Editors), and an accredited editor for UNAIDS and the United Nations Population Fund. She is also a member of the Australasian Medical Writers Association, Australian Science Communicators and the Institute of Professional Editors.

Experience: Julie has been providing consultancy for large communication projects in the health sector for more than 10 years. She has been the content expert for several digital transformations for Australian Government departments and agencies. Her clients include the Australian Government Department of Health, Cancer Australia, the National Health and Medical Research Council, and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.

Jason Gray

BA(Communications), DipAppSci

Senior Content Developer

Skills: Jason has been a writer and editor for 25 years. Most of his work has involved collaborating with subject-matter experts and creative professionals to develop and produce high-quality content.

Qualifications: Jason has a Bachelor of Arts (Communication) from the University of Canberra and a Diploma of Applied Science (Medical Radiation Technology) from the University of Newcastle.

Experience: Jason has extensive experience in instructional design, writing, developmental editing, structural editing and copyediting. Jason held positions with the Australian Public Service and the Queensland Public Service before joining educational publisher John Wiley & Sons, Australia in 2002. At John Wiley & Sons he worked in several positions, finally as Managing Editor in the Higher Education Unit. Here, he created and implemented content development, editorial and production processes to enhance the experience of authors, staff and collaborators, improve educational outcomes and boost business outcomes. The unit was recognised globally as a centre of excellence.

Carrie DeHaan

BSc, DipProfWritEdit

Principal Science Content Developer and Strategist

Skills: Carrie is a science content specialist, with a technical background, and writing and editing qualifications. Her diploma studies have added speechwriting, copywriting, journalism and desktop publishing to her writing and editing expertise. She is particularly skilled at content design and content strategy to ensure effective, user-focused websites.

Qualifications: Carrie has a BSc in genetics and worked for 10 years in genetics, cancer and diabetes research in Canada and Australia. She also has a Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing.

Experience: Since joining Biotext in 2008, Carrie has specialised in health and biomedical projects. Carrie has vast editing and writing experience, especially web writing. Her experience includes user research (including internal and external stakeholders), content auditing and analysis, usability testing, content mapping and planning, content design and content strategy.

Bryan Potter

Chief Operating Officer, Content Service Manager

Skills: Bryan is an experienced publishing professional. He joined Biotext in 2013 as Production Manager and he enjoys collaborating with clients with quotes, tender responses, contracts and any other client requests. He also collaborates with Biotext’s content specialists on their projects, managing their workflow, overseeing job progress and doing whatever he can to maximise our client’s experience with Biotext.

Qualifications: He is a trained facilitator and a qualified Prince2 Practitioner, and uses this project management method to aid him in running successful projects.

Experience: Bryan previously  worked with Elsevier Ltd in both the United Kingdom and India, and with Pearson Australia in Sydney, specialising in project management for publishing large, multi-authored books and ebooks. In 2008, he published the 40th edition of Gray’s anatomy, a special edition designed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 1st edition, and has worked on a number of other high-profile reference and educational books in the medical sector. In 2009, he was seconded to India for a year to hire, train and mentor a team of 18 project managers in a new Health Sciences publishing production department.

He joined Biotext in 2013 as Production Manager, becoming General Manager in 2017 and Chief Operating Officer in 2017.

Dr Darren Goossens

BSc(Hons), PhD, GradCert(Prof Write & Edit), AE

Science Writer and Editor, Data Strategist, Training Manager

Skills: Darren is a specialist in physical and mathematical sciences and is skilled in science writing, editing and proofreading. Through his research, he has also gained skills in computer programming, and presenting and analysing data. As Biotext’s training manager, he develops, writes and presents online and in-person courses.

Qualifications: Darren has an undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics (including statistics), a PhD in physics, and a Graduate Certificate in Professional Writing and Editing. He is an Australian Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) Accredited Editor and a member of IPEd, the Canberra Society of Editors.

Experience: Darren has written, copyedited and proofread for many Biotext clients, including the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the Australian Mathematics Trust and Geoscience Australia. He works with words, images and data to ensure content is presented logically and comprehensibly. He has co-authored textbooks for high school physics, and written, edited and proofread reports, books, grant applications, scientific papers and training material for many organisations, including the Australian Public Service Academy, the International Union of Crystallography and the Australian National University.

His work in training and data is informed by years of experience as a research scientist, lecturer and teacher.

Janna Randell

BEnvSci, DipGov

Senior Science Content Developer

Skills: Janna is an expert in content writing and strategy for complex scientific and government subjects. She specialises in Earth sciences, agriculture and water, and takes a user-focused approach to scoping the needs of clients and audiences to create effective content.

Qualifications: Janna has a Bachelor of Environmental Science, majoring in fisheries and aquaculture management. She has 10 years experience in science education and strategic communication roles across the Australian Government and the private sector.

Experience: Janna has extensive experience in strategic communication, writing for government organisations and developing plain-English content to meet audience needs. She delivers creative content solutions in line with best-practice guidance on accessibility and inclusivity.

Dr Emily Henkel

BSc(Hons), PhD

Science Writer and Editor

Skills: Emily specialises in clear and effective communication of health content. Her areas of expertise include developing health content for both lay and expert audiences, and summarising technical discussions at health committee meetings into concise minutes and reports.​

Qualifications: Emily has a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Applied Chemistry and a PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry. She is also a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Editors and the Australasian Medical Writers Association.

Experience: Emily is an experienced researcher and science writer. Throughout her 8 years in research and 6 years in academia, she wrote numerous literature reviews and study reports, presented complex scientific concepts to both contemporaries and lay audiences, and published peer-reviewed articles in medical journals.

At Biotext, Emily has developed health content for clients such as the Australian Government Department of Health and Cancer Australia. She has also been attending and writing minutes for health committee meetings for over 2 years, including for the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC), the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Advisory Committee (MRAC), and the National Blood Authority.

Tim Meyen

BA(Graphic Design)

Senior Information Designer

Skills: Tim’s skills in layout, composition, typesetting and illustration help him to bring structure, cohesion and clarity to a range of design tasks.

Qualifications: He has a Bachelor of Graphic Design from the University of Canberra.

Experience: Tim has been a graphic designer for print and screen for 25 years. Before joining Biotext, he worked for several government employers, including the Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Tim has also worked for private sector employers and as a freelance designer.

Tim has experience in managing all aspects of production for a wide range of communication materials. This has included reports, technical publications, periodicals, signage, posters, advertising, print procurement and management, infographics, data visualisation, illustrations, logos, branding, icons and websites. He particularly enjoys the challenges of making complex processes or messages clear using engaging infographics.

Jennifer Robertson

BApplSc(Distinction), CertProfEditProof

Senior Health Content Developer

Skills: Jennifer is an experienced medical writer and web content designer. She has extensive experience in writing for government organisations and healthcare professionals. She is passionate about developing plain-English content to meet audience needs.

Qualifications: Jennifer has a Bachelor of Applied Science with Distinction in Speech Pathology from the University of Sydney. She also holds a Certificate of Professional Editing and Proofreading, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Editors and the Australasian Medical Writers Association.

Experience: Jennifer has worked as both a healthcare professional and a medical writer. She has written materials such as websites, fact sheets, medical education slide kits, and advisory board reports across a wide range of clinical areas. She enjoys working in a multidisciplinary team to create high-quality content that is findable, readable, useful and accessible.