English Editing and Proofreading for Life Science and Medical Papers
Dr. Wendy Ran did her undergraduate research in microbiology and paleoecology at Boston University and then continued her education in human pathology and cell biology, receiving a PhD from Boston University Medical School. Following a postdoctoral year at the University of Washington-Seattle, in the Department of Pharmacology, studying the molecular biology of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, she moved to Germany, where she has worked for over 20 years as a freelance English language copyeditor.
In addition to her expertise in her fields of study, she has worked extensively with clinicians and investigators in several medical specialties (radiology, oncology, immunology, infectious disease, epidemiology etc.), marine biology, oceanography, microbial and environmental ecology, paleontology, and marine chemistry, helping physicians, researchers, post-docs, and graduate students in writing and revising research manuscripts.
She has also been the chief copyeditor for a prestigious English language microbiology journal based in Germany, the sole copyeditor of two editions of the English language version of a well-known German textbook of Dermatology, monographs in numerous medical fields, and a clinicians’ guide to multi-detector computed tomography, developed by Siemens. She has assisted in the research and preparation of promotional materials for major European scientific conferences and in writing texts for departmental websites.
Dr. Ran's work has also included acting as a liaison between publisher and researcher in the development of laboratory manuals and other teaching materials, as well as being an invited speaker in Barcelona, where she lectured students, researchers, and professors on how to write a science manuscript.
Dr. Ran is a native English speaker (American) and is fluent in German, with good knowledge of Spanish (written and spoken), and work-level knowledge of French, Italian, Portuguese, and Catalan.
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Avoid beginning a sentence with an antecedent (e.g., “Its”) or a demonstrative pronoun (e.g., “this”).
When a number is used to describe a single measurement, a singular verb is used (10 ml was added). However, if the subject is considered in separate parts, a plural verb is required (10 ml drops were added one by one).
The definite and indefinite articles should be used in formal writing; however, they may be partially excluded in headings, titles, figures, and lists.
Avoid pleonasms: for example, are found to be in agreement-agree, give consideration to-consider, in order to-to.
When a sentence begins with a number, the number must be written in full.
Avoid using a split infinitive unless the sentence requires it to avoid awkwardness or confusion.
Do not use the possessive apostrophe in acronyms (Incorrect: DNA’s).
Do not begin sentences with “and”.
"Hopefully, I could send you as many manuscripts as I can this year. Please continue to help the publication of our research reports. Thank you."
Tokyo University of Pharmacy & Life Sciences, Japan. May 2009.
"I am very much satisfied with your editing service. The manuscript has been beautifully overhauled and transformed in to a better communicable form. I wish I can write such good English. Your editors have done an excellent job. I owe a lot to all of you. If I can publish this paper in JAMA I will share my happiness with you all by informing you. Thank you. "
Immunobiology Div, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow 226001, UP, Indi
"It has been long since I asked you to edit our manuscripts. I appreciate for a series of your wonderful works and also, your help for my collaborators at Kyoto University. I am now a professor at Fukushima Medical University and a dean of graduate school. Your help was quite important for my career. Thank you. "
Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan. November 2010
"With your editing service, I made my papers accepted in several journals: Appl. Environ. Microbiol., ISME J., Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol., and etc. I appreciate your editing service and will continue to send you more of my work in the future. "
Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Kyonggi-do, South Korea. May 2010.
"Thank you for quick and beautiful editing of our paper.Yesterday, I have re-submitted our paper. And several hours ago, the paper was accepted in Nucleic Acids Research. I appreciate you and other editors in BioEdit. Someday, I will request you to edit our next paper. "
Yokohama City University, Kanagawa, Japan. December 2010
"I'd love to inform you that our manuscript was finally accepted to Nature. I appreciate you very much that your edition of our previous version of manuscript was so helpful to be accepted. "
Osaka University, Osaka, Japan. December 2010
"I just want to thank you for your editing.The manuscript entitled “The carboxy-terminal region ....” was accepted within one day. Thank you for your good editing. "
Nara Women's University, Nara, Japan. December 2010
"I really appreciate your immediate, meticulous editing of my revised manuscript free of charge. I hope this re-edited manuscript will be accepted for publication. Thanks again. "
National Institute of Infectious Disease, Tokyo, Japan. November 2010