Scientific communication

I am a native English speaker, born and raised in the UK, with a real passion for language and a talent for grammar and writing.

However, I was also very good at sciences in school and I initially chose a scientific path. I studied Agricultural Botany at Reading University, UK, gaining a BSc (first class honours), and then obtained a PhD in Molecular Biology from Cambridge University, UK.

After completing my education, I joined Alex Edelman & Associates as a scientific editor and translator, a post enabling me to combine my scientific background with my more literary talents in English and foreign languages. I worked for this company, which specialised in the correction and translation of texts in all domains of biology, agriculture and medicine, from 1998 to 2026. During this period, I worked on more than 8,000 texts, mostly research articles sent to us by researchers before their submission to peer-reviewed journals, but also posters, PhD theses, grant proposals, research protocols and book chapters. I was responsible for correcting and improving the English of scientific texts written by non-native English-speaking scientists and translating scientific texts from French, Spanish, or occasionally Dutch into English. I was also sometimes called on to write texts from scratch. I am now continuing this activity independently.

My scientific background is a tremendous asset in this work, providing me with the necessary background and understanding to get to grips with the subject matter of complex scientific texts, ensuring that the ideas within them are expressed clearly and correctly, and identifying any ambiguities that might cause readers and reviewers problems, so that they can be resolved before submission. I can also identify and correct the errors of meaning that arise when AI has been used to translate or write the original article. I enjoy interacting with my clients and am happy to discuss my corrections to ensure that the final text says exactly what they want it to say, in perfect English.

Non-specialist English correction and translation

My literary side was never totally eclipsed by science and when one of my scientific clients decided to write novels in his retirement and asked me to translate them I was more than happy to do so. So began the adventure of my freelance work,  with his first novel in 2015. I have since translated several other novels and worked on many other non-specialist texts (translation or correction), including webpages, marketing material, journalistic articles and essays.  I apply the same rigour and dedication to these tasks as to my scientific work.  

Coaching and teaching

Over the years, a number of my clients have requested help with the preparation of their oral presentations. This began as a minor activity but is becoming increasingly important. I use my expertise to optimise the starting materials, correcting the English on the slides and making suggestions for their improvement, and correcting the text to be delivered orally. I then work with the client to improve pronunciation, modifying the text where necessary to make it easier to deliver and helping the client to become more confident about talking about their work in public, in English. In response to requests for scientific English teaching, I am now expanding my skills base through CELTA training, to enable me to teach apply effective teaching methods to the training of scientists in effective scientific writing in English. This new service should become available in 2027.