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Given the central role of scholarship in academic medicine, the CFD has created a dedicated webpage to bring together the information to support your writing needs, projects, and goals.

LATEST NEWS

C/T Research Academy First Grant Bootcamp
January – May 2025 | Applications due December 11, 2024
Training program designed for early-stage investigators who are ready to write their first grant application. Over the course of 15 weeks, participants will prepare a competitive grant application via self-paced grant-writing instruction, live webinars, and faculty-led small groups focused on feedback and editing.

Enhanced and updated course! Publishing a Research Paper: 2nd Edition
Publishing a paper is an essential step in the research process and the culmination of the time and effort spent on your research. To help you navigate the publishing process, Nature Masterclasses’ updated and enhanced Publishing a Research Paper: 2nd Edition course is designed to help you with widely applicable best practices and strategies to increase your chances of success and help you towards a smooth and seamless publication.



Recommended Resources on Writing

Consulting service: NIH K Grant Specific Aims Page
NIH K grant applicants, apply to have the specific aims section of your grant reviewed by Harvard faculty who have successfully received NIH grant funding. Offered by Harvard Catalyst's Writing and Communication Center, this service is free for Harvard-affiliated schools and institutions. Learn more and apply for a consultation.
Apply for a consultation

Harvard Catalyst Consulting service: NIH K Grant Specific Aims 

NIH K grant applicants, apply to have the specific aims section of your grant reviewed by Harvard faculty who have successfully received NIH grant funding. Offered by our Writing and Communication Center, this service, offered freely to Harvard-affiliated researchers, is currently accepting consultation applications on a rolling basis. 



National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) membership:

Harvard has an institutional membership with the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD), effective Feb. 1, 2022. The pilot membership runs for 3 years, through Jan. 31, 2025. NCFDD’s career development resources, including robust writing support, are available to all Harvard-affiliated faculty, postdoctoral fellows, clinical trainees, staff, and medical, dental, and graduate (master’s/PhD) students.  All you have to do is choose “Harvard” from the options; membership is free . 
Register here

NCFDD writing resources include these Monday Motivator topics:

 

Noteworthy books and articles on (scientific) writing:
  • We highly recommend this succinct yet thorough guide to excellent writing: 

 The Elements of Style, Strunk and White 



  • This book specifically addresses scientific writing:

 The Craft of Scientific Writing, Alley 




  • Other excellent resources on writing: 

 

How to Write a Lot, Paul J. Silvia




 

Clear and Simple as the Truth: Writing Classic Prose, Francis-Noël Thomas and Mark Turner


Style: Toward Clarity and Grace, Joseph M. Williams




Story Craft: the Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction, Jack Hart






Guides to writing and publishing:

 

MGH Scientific Writing Group Writing Support

The MGH Scientific Writing Group (SWG), led by Rebecca Ward, PhD, is comprised of Medical/Scientific Writers in the Department of Medicine with specific expertise in cancer immunology, cardiovascular biology, neuroscience, and infectious diseases. Together, they have experience editing and writing manuscripts as well as all types of grants (R01, R21, K99, F31, U19, U01, U54, internal MGH and foundation grants). They assist in the publication of primary articles, reviews, commentaries, perspectives, and book chapters.

In collaboration with the CFD, the MGH SWG provides freelance writing and editing services for MGH faculty and trainees which is fully subsidized by the CFD, up to 5 hours and limited to once annually. Please fill out this brief application
There is no deadline; apply when writing support is needed.

Workshops and Courses on Writing


PAST PRESENTATIONS:


TO CONSULT:

NIH Grant Writers' Seminars and Workshops 
Sample Resources:

  • Tips Before You Submit: Ever Wondered What Happens During the Scientific Review of an NIH Grant Application? Understanding how peer review works is key to writing a good grant application. In this 44-minute video, NIH Peer Review: “Live” Mock Study Section, scientists have gathered virtually to review three fictional applications in response to a fictional Request For Applications. Watch their discussion to learn how applications are scored, what questions are commonly asked, and what mistakes to avoid in your application.
  • All About Grants Podcast: Considerations for a Research Plan In this NIH All About Grants episode (MP3 / Transcript) a duo of NIH program officers share their advice and experience on developing a research plan for a grant application.
2021 NIH Virtual Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administration

National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN), NRMN Resources
Best Practices for Students, Postdocs & Faculty Mentors When Writing an NIH Fellowship Grant App

Nature Masterclasses

From designing your experiments to advancing your career, Nature Masterclasses offer on-demand courses that cover the whole research cycle. Examples include:

To access Nature Masterclasses, choose the institutional login option, select “Harvard University,” and enter your HarvardKey information.

HMS Office for Postdoctoral Fellows
This resource includes a component on Manuscript & Scientific Writing (Prep Strategies for Writing, Writing for Publication Boot Camp, Cultural Aspects of Writing, and Professional Correspondence for Scientists).

Harvard Catalyst

By cataloguing content from a collection of courses and resources, the Writing and Communication Center provides countless videos, articles, websites, rubrics, and course offerings surrounding funding, written communication, speaking skills, visual media, and professional development.

Multi-year program for K grant awardees seeking independent research funding.

Watch a series of interviews with Harvard researchers as they explain how to create a good research question. Researchers share helpful frameworks, factors to consider, candid advice, and how they've utilized these strategies in their own work.

HMS Effective Writing for Healthcare
This resource is a professional development program launched in 2020-2021, with specialized tracks in (1) Writing for Medical and Scientific Journals, (2) Writing for the Public, and (3) Writing Grant Proposals.

Writing Evaluation Letters
Templates and Samples

Promotion-Related Templates and Samples

  • CV Narrative Samples:
    • CV Narrative Instructor AoE Inv (Sample)
    • CV Narrative Instructor AoE CEI + SSA Inv (Sample)
    • CV Narrative Asst Prof AoE CEI (Sample)
    • CV Narrative Asst Prof AoE CEI + SSA Inv (Sample)
    • CV Narrative Assoc Prof AoE Inv (Sample)
    • CV Narrative Assoc Prof AoE CEI + SSA Inv (Sample)
  • Composing the HMS CV Narrative (Recording) (Slide Deck)
  • Chief/Chair Letter (Template) (Sample)


Fellowship Application


Responses to NIH Review of R01


Resources for an Effective Poster

Using AI at work

Artificial Intelligence at Mass General Brigham: This site is intended to provide updates on how MGB is applying AI to address strategic priorities and improve care team, employee, patient and employee experiences.

"The Smartest Way to Use AI at Work" from the Wall Street Journal

AI Courses and Resources from MGB/HMS, compiled by the CFD

BREAKING NEWS

The Mass General Department of Medicine’s Lab of Computer Science (LCS) performs informatics research and explores applications of information technology in health care. Its projects and research address a wide range of health care-related needs. One such project is DXplain, a diagnostic decision support tool for clinicians that utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI). Click here to read a Q&A about the tool with Henry Chueh, MD, MS, director of the MGH Lab of Computer Science.

AI Offers Potential Solution to Ease Clinical Documentation Burden
Mass General Brigham (MGB) is launching a program using the ability of generative artificial intelligence (AI) platforms to listen to a patient visit and produce an accurate note afterwards for their electronic health record. Burnout is an epidemic in health care and electronic health records are a major contributor; AI offers a potential solution to help ease the heavy documentation burden. The ambient documentation program currently includes 450 MGB physicians and will expand to more than 800 over the next month. The Wall Street Journal spoke with Rebecca Mishuris, MD, chief medical information officer at Mass General Brigham, who is leading the program, and Amy Wheeler, MD, a primary care physician at MGH Revere, who uses the AI in her practice. Dr. Mishuris told the Journal of the program’s early results: “the feedback is impressive. I have quotes from people saying, ‘I’m no longer leaving medicine.’”
Click here to read the full article.