By Rachel Schreiber

Myrthe Naparstek has shown that a good education and job flexibility can lead to unknown fulfillment. Born and raised in Zurich, Switzerland, Myrthe was studying English in London when she met her future husband, a Holocaust survivor, on a train. They were married in 1964 and came to Ann Arbor.

Having earned a business degree from Switzerland, with a concentration in public relations, Myrthe says, “I didn’t think I’d ever work in that field.” She studied in a Russian immersion program upon her arrival in Ann Arbor (she speaks English, German, French and some Russian). Realizing she needed more education to get a better job; she earned a degree in literature and foreign languages. By 1968, she and her husband moved to Buffalo, New York where she taught German. Another transfer to Connecticut in 1976 left Myrthe jobless. One day while driving on the highway, she saw a billboard advertising Miles Pharmaceuticals (previously known as Bayer USA). She drove over, walked in and applied. She says, “They needed a translator and hired me on the spot; it was a perfect fit. Six months later a very nice young German man asked me to type a letter for him and I told him I would. It turned out that nice young man became president of Miles Pharmaceuticals, and he hired me as his assistant.”

In 1977, Bayer, one of the first pharmaceutical companies to start an inhouse medical meetings department, provided support for medical programs and accredited continuing medical education programs. Myrthe collaborated with medical schools throughout the US and provided logistical support to organize, promote and stage the programs and assist with the audience generation. Thus, Myrthe found her niche, she could use her education, her training and her languages to organize medical meetings for physicians and the medical community. She says, “I enjoy being involved in the medical community because it is so diverse and everything is changing. The work on HIV is a passion of mine. I’ve come across different diseases, and I’ve read fantastic research. I am able to interface with incredibly brilliant and dedicated physicians, healthcare professionals as well as community leaders and patients. I’ve even met astronauts, while organizing a History of Medicine Program with a segment on medicine in space.”

After 13 years in Connecticut, Myrthe’s husband changed jobs and they moved to Chicago. She joined Abbott Laboratories and developed Abbot’s medical meetings department. When her husband died in 1994, she stayed in Illinois. It was 1998 when she brought her medical meetings’ experience to Ann Arbor and opened Med-Ed Link, Inc, which is similar to what she was doing for Abbott and Miles. Myrthe and her team produce advisory boards, consultant programs; training programs, in the US and internationally, as well as collaborates with medical organizations on continuing medical education programs for the medical community. She makes recommendations on whom her clients might possibly invite to participate in a program on HIV, makes recommendations on presenters within a particular disease state. Med-Ed Link helps with the development of the meeting format, suggests relevant topics, manages program logistics and audience generation as well as is responsible for the production of the meeting.

In 2000, Myrthe expanded her company and opened a Med-Ed Link office in Chicago. She continues to stage programs, but times and technology have had an impact.The meetings today include web conferencing as an alternate meeting platform. Also, the economy’s downturn and new regulatory environment has had an impact on the medical meetings business. She says, “We are diversifying right now to take our model outside the pharmaceutical industry, thus expanding to include the legal and information technology professions. Our business model will serve well for other markets that derive benefits from holding a meeting.”

Med-Ed Link, Inc
Myrthe Naparstek
Phone: 734.996.4015
Email: myrthee@aol.com