When Barbara Gastel ’78, M.P.H. ’78, left Johns Hopkins with her newly minted M.D., she didn’t head to work in a hospital or laboratory. Instead, she landed an AAAS fellowship at Newsweek, where she helped cover the birth of the world’s first IVF baby.

“That summer, I realized that medicine was my foundation, but communication was my calling,” she says.

Since then, Gastel has spent her career at the intersection of biomedicine and communication. Her path has included stints at the NIH, MIT, and USCF, as well as two years in China helping researchers improve their scientific writing. She has written and edited extensively, most notably as the current lead author of the influential How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper.

Now a professor at Texas A&M with joint appointments in the Department of Integrative Biosciences and the Department of Humanities in Medicine, she also directs the university’s master’s program in science and technology journalism.

Her latest project is a new book, Medical Editing: A Guide to Learning the Craft and Building Your Career, due out in November. It aims to be both practical and approachable, offering aspiring editors a roadmap into a growing and increasingly global field. Gastel emphasizes not just the technical skills, but the mindset required to excel: “You need a solid framework in science and empathy for the audience, and importantly, you need to always be learning.”

Even after decades in medical communications, Gastel remains energized by her work and excited for what’s next, including future editions of her books, more teaching and perhaps a memoir.

“Sometimes people think a medical degree only leads to patient care,” she says. “But what Hopkins gave me — knowledge, tenacity, and a strong work ethic — opened doors I never imagined.”