Pamela is available to work in one-on-one consultation with Department of Surgery faculty and trainees who are preparing grant proposals, research manuscripts, and book chapters for submission. Consultations may take place in person, electronically, or by telephone.
For grant proposals specifically, Pamela can
help develop the Research Plan component so that it makes a
straightforward case for the proposed work. Funding agencies have
limited resources and most need a very practical reason to give a
scientist money. Therefore, grant reviewers want to see that reason
stated clearly and supported by a strong rationale and plan of
action. A concise and unambiguous proposal has the best chance of
being funded.
Any type of manuscript, including full-length articles,
brief observations, review papers, case studies, editorials,
letters, revisions, and cover letters for revisions can be
submitted for editorial review. Most manuscripts can be
edited and returned within 2-7 days.
In general, Pamela will edit the manuscript or proposal for organization, clarity, consistency, logic, emphasis, grammar, spelling, and style:
- checking that each section of the manuscript is complete and appropriate (for example, interpretation of results belongs in the Discussion section, not the Results section).
- querying you about statements that are unclear, missing, potentially problematic, or seemingly incorrect.
- whenever possible, providing suggested revisions of material that is ambiguous or discursive.
- cross-checking for accuracy among the different parts of the manuscript (for example, correspondence between the Results section and tables).
- evaluating tables, charts, figures for inclusion in the manuscript.
- ensuring the manuscript conforms to the style and requirements of the target journal or granting agency
- ensuring that idiomatic American English is used correctly (for authors whose primary language is not English)
- proofreading for spelling and grammatical errors.
Most authors find it easiest to e-mail an electronic file to
Pamela at pamela.derish@ucsfmedctr.org. She can also be reached
at (415) 885-7686.
For grants, which take priority, at least 2 days notice is requested before sending the abstract and research plan for editing. In general, turnaround time is usually 2-7 days for manuscripts and 1-4 days for grant proposals.