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Working with Iain Patten has been truly transformative for my lab. His writing retreats have quickly advanced our writing skills in ways that just aren't possible through books or traditional teaching methods. What makes Iain special is how he teaches those conceptually challenging writing concepts—logical progression and keeping the reader in mind. These things are notoriously hard to teach, yet Iain's hands-on approach makes them click for scientists at every level. The benefits go well beyond better manuscripts. After each session with Iain, my lab's collaborative atmosphere has noticeably improved. Team members now give each other more helpful feedback, handle constructive criticism better, and understand how reviewing others' work actually improves their own writing. I especially value how Iain helps scientists become more intellectually flexible. He shows trainees how to stay open to new ideas and adapt their thinking when receiving feedback—skills that are crucial for scientific growth and extend far beyond just writing. The impact has been incredible for my entire team's thinking and communication abilities. I can't recommend Iain highly enough for any research group looking to level up their scientific writing and teamwork.
Dr Lillian Fritz-Laylin, Howard Hughes Medical Institute & University of Massachusetts , Amherst
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“Iain has a genius for developing scientific stories and teaching this process. He demystifies the process of scientific writing, and this is extremely useful for getting students and postdocs to engage in scientific writing. Working with Iain has fundamentally changed the way my lab approaches science. He has trained us to use writing as a central tool to plan our experiments. As a result, my team thinks deeply about developing the scientific narrative early in a project, leading to a much more efficient and streamlined process of going from experiment to data to manuscript. The enthusiasm and passion he brings to his work make working with Iain an absolute joy. We continue to work with Iain on several stories developing in the lab, and I'm excited to see the manuscripts that come out.”
Dr Marcus Taylor, Group Leader, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin
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"Iain’s course helped me better construct clear, concise and engaging pieces of communication. He is gifted at breaking down how we should structure a piece of writing and explain the all-important why this structure and style helps the reader. Through his course I was able to quickly and efficiently write a successful fellowship application. I would highly recommend his training and expertise to any scientist wishing to advance their written communication."
Dr Annika Nichols, HFSP Postdoctoral Fellow at Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland
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“Iain showed me how to understand and engage with the writing process more effectively. His exceptional way of teaching, his expertise and incisive feedback were crucial for improving my writing. Indeed, Iain is a passionate consultant, who teaches from personal experience. I can’t speak highly enough of this training.”
Dr Simone Reber, Group Leader, IRI Life Sciences, Humboldt University, Berlin
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“Iain Patten's training and consultancy has been key to establishing the foundations of paper writing in my lab. Iain has helped us develop stories from the very beginning of the project which not only eased the process of writing the actual paper but also shaped the design of experiments needed to support the story. It has also been extremely helpful to be able to work on papers with Iain at a distance, and we are currently working with him on several stories. Overall, Iain’s services have been extremely beneficial for my lab.”
Dr Jan Brugues, Group Leader, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden
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“Iain has a rare gift of being able to explain the unexplainable. I always thought writing was a skill you either have or you don't. Working with Iain has made me realize it is a continuous process of learning and refining, but more importantly he has managed to make the key concepts behind effective communication understandable.“
Dr Wouter Masselink, Lise Meitner post-doctoral fellow, IMP - Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna
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“Working with Iain has provided significant benefits for my lab. My lab members and I approach publications in a different and more efficient manner. I spend less time editing manuscripts and more time thinking how to best explain the data and the implications. Every time Iain comes to the lab, we have the feeling that we have advanced significantly in our thinking and publication process.”
Dr Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo, ICREA Research Professor, Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, Barcelona
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“Iain Patten’s writing course has had an enormous impact on the scientific productivity of my laboratory. His concept of not only training students in writing skills but also instructing their scientific mentors how to provide the most useful feedback is extremely helpful. Furthermore, Iain’s recommendation to PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to continuously and regularly use writing as a tool to specify experimental aims while working in the lab rather than “writing up a story” in a paper manuscript after completion of experimental work helps me and my lab members enormously to identify the most relevant experiments answering the most important scientific questions. All new members joining my laboratory now participate in Iain’s writing courses and I am very grateful to his fantastic mentorship.”
Dr Daniel Gerlich, Senior Scientist, IMBA - Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Vienna
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"A large part of the training is really about acquiring the skills to sort out for yourself what it is that you are really doing. This course gave me something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life."
Dr Florian Jug, Group Leader, Center for Systems Biology Dresden
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"Ever since I attended Iain Patten’s week long writing course at the MPI-CBG in Dresden, I have been approaching writing differently. As a scientist, we are writers—whether we like it or not, it is an essential if not existential skill. Iain’s concepts and exercises helped demystify the process. Since the first course, I have kept coming back to Iain with my manuscripts—his insights and perspective are invaluable. Sometimes it takes an external observer with deep expertise and experience to truly understand how to better communicate one’s ideas. I sincerely recommend Iain’s services in any shape or form."
Dr Loic Royer, Group Leader, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco
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Working with Iain changed my way of writing manuscripts, grant applications or indeed any kind of document. Following his guidelines increased the clarity, effectiveness and comprehensiveness of my writing tremendously. It impressed me how he distilled information from a manuscript and provided new ways to present and therefore strengthen the conclusion. Thus, I highly recommend Iain’s training and writing support to scientists at all levels.
Dr Anja Zeigerer, Junior Group Leader, Helmholtz Center Munich
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