Scientific Writing for biomedical/translational research

This Scientific Writing course is designed for PhD students in bio-medical (cellular, molecular, translational) research fields. 

• Are you a GSMS PhD student?
• Are you doing research in a biomedical field (e.g. cellular, molecular or translational research)?
• Do you have a COMPLETE study which you would like to write a research paper on? OR:
• Do you have a COMPLETE research manuscript (written by you as first author), which you would like to improve before submitting?
• Are you fluent in English language (grammar, vocabulary)?
• Can you make time to follow ALL course days and prepare ALL homework assignments?
• If the answer to all of these questions is yes, this course is for you.

• You have little experience in scientific writing; your command of English language and grammar needs improvement: please follow the course Publishing in English.
• Your research is purely clinical or epidemiological: please follow the course Science Writing for Epidemiological Research.

• You will obtain a clear understanding of the process leading to writing a biomedical research manuscript. In overview, the main steps of this process are:

1. Thinking about and planning your research;
2. Pperforming experiments;
3. Writing the manuscript;
4. Submitting the manuscript;
5. Dealing with rebuttals;

• You will (re)write your research manuscript critically, at the level of word, sentence, paragraph, section and whole manuscript;
• You will learn and apply style and argumentation skills;
• You will learn about the role of your own personality in the writing process. You will become aware of your positive and negative convictions concerning writing; you will learn to address these convictions in order to improve your scientific self-confidence, satisfaction and success;
• At the end of the course you will have written a complete research paper based on your study.

• Lectures. These will convey the theoretical knowledge needed to write a scientific paper.
• Demonstrations. Examples drawn from your own manuscripts will be discussed and improved during the classes.
• Interactive work and exercises. You will work individually or in small groups on your manuscript, putting into practice what you have learned in theory.
• Homework. After each course day you will receive a homework assignment, which you will prepare before the following course day. You will collaborate with a study buddy in order to give and receive feedback on your homework.
• Handouts will be provided.
• It is strongly recommended to bring a laptop or tablet to the course.

The course consists of five full days (8 hours/day).

After preliminary enrolment online, you will receive an invitation for a brief intake interview with the course coordinator. Final enrolment will take place after the intake interview.

To obtain a course certificate and study points, participation in all course days and preparation of all indicated homework is mandatory.