Scientific Writing and Publishing Workshop Series
We are currently finalizing the schedule. The dates shown are provisional and will be confirmed shortly. Please check back for updates.
Publishing scientific research involves more than writing a manuscript, it also requires choosing the right journal, navigating peer review, and responding effectively to feedback. This two-part interactive workshop series for graduate students at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health will provide practical guidance on each stage of the publication process, from manuscript preparation and journal submission to revising manuscripts and responding to reviewers. Through hands-on exercises and real-world examples, participants will gain practical skills to navigate the publishing process with confidence.
WORKSHOP 1
The before: manuscript preparation and journal submission
- How to distill a narrative
- Balanced writing (brevity, specificity, hourglass structure)
- Hands-on abstract exercise (depending on number of people):
- What to look for in abstracts
- Exercise (few people): People bring in a version of their abstract and we can discuss/improve them maybe in small groups?
- Alt Exercise (more people): Use an existing manuscript (sans abstract) and write up an abstract in real time as a group
- Coffee/snack break
- Deciding on target journals for impact and desired audience
- Cover letter writing considerations and journal submission
WORKSHOP 2
The after: practical peer review and revision
- General principle and structures of peer review
- Providing my bioRxiv paper, read peer reviewer reports and my revision rebuttal to discuss:
- How to read reviewer reports and understand the main critiques
- Deciding when to undertake new experiments and analyses (and what are tradeoffs)
- Responding to reviewers: tone, clarifications and arguments
- Optional: Serving as peer reviewers and writing reports
Speaker Information
Michael Chao
Midweek Mindfulness Reset
Reduce your stress, calm your nervous system, and reset.
Sit with a rotating group of some of the most influential instructors in the mindfulness space, including monastics from the Plum Village tradition. Each session offers a variety of mindfulness practices and insights to support your well-being. It’s the perfect reset to mark the middle of your week!
We will meet virtually via Zoom every Wednesday from 11:00 am–11:30 am ET (and you’re welcome to stay for an optional 15 additional minutes for sharing and community building). Open to all; no experience needed.
Please note that these sessions are for relaxation and general wellness only and are not a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment. By participating, you agree to take responsibility for your own physical and emotional well‑being, and to consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical or mental health concerns.
Organizers
Plotting like a Pro: Data Visualization with R / ggplot2
In this hands-on workshop we will demonstrate how to create high-quality plots utilizing the ggplot2 R package. The workshop will cover different plot formats as well at many of the key options and theme layers that participants may be interested in applying to create their highly customized plots. We will also cover exporting plots as well as creating functions for a consistent formatting across plots.
Organizers
Midweek Mindfulness Reset
Reduce your stress, calm your nervous system, and reset.
Sit with a rotating group of some of the most influential instructors in the mindfulness space, including monastics from the Plum Village tradition. Each session offers a variety of mindfulness practices and insights to support your well-being. It’s the perfect reset to mark the middle of your week!
We will meet virtually via Zoom every Wednesday from 11:00 am–11:30 am ET (and you’re welcome to stay for an optional 15 additional minutes for sharing and community building). Open to all; no experience needed.
Please note that these sessions are for relaxation and general wellness only and are not a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment. By participating, you agree to take responsibility for your own physical and emotional well‑being, and to consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical or mental health concerns.
Organizers
Best Practices for Creating Charts and Graphs
This workshop will cover key design principles you should consider when planning data visualizations — from choosing the optimal chart or graph type for your data to the effective use of color, text, and annotations.
Instructor: Jess Cohen-Tanugi, Visualization Specialist, Harvard Library
Organizers
EcoOpportunity Book Exchange
Informal gathering to chat about books we’ve enjoyed and build a sustainable community through reuse. Bring books to share. (All types of books: fiction, non-fiction, memoir, how-to, etc.).
Don’t have any extra books? Bring some book recommendations. There will be extra books. Invite a friend!
HUID required for building entry
Introduction to Data Visualization with Python / Seaborn
This hands-on workshop, hosted by the Countway Library, will cover the basics of data visualization using Seaborn, a library for the Python programming language. We will cover how to create plots using numeric and categorical data, as well as the creation of multi-panel figures for data exploration and presentation.
For more information about the event, visit the event page.
Community-Engaged Environmental Data Science Training
Join a two-day intensive course featuring lectures on key concepts in solution-oriented, community environmental health research. Sessions will cover areas ranging from exposure assessment techniques to epidemiologic methods, community engagement practices, health policy applications, data science, and statistical analytic approaches for doing environmental health science that is in partnership with and relevant for improving community health.
Led by Joan Casey, PhD, University of Washington and Tamarra James-Todd, Harvard University
This training is co-hosted by the Columbia University SHARP (Skills for Health and Research Professionals) Program, the Columbia NIEHS Center for Environmental Health in Northern Manhattan (CEHNM), URMC’s NIEHS Environmental Health Sciences Center & Institute for Human Health and Environment, the Harvard Chan NIEHS Center for Environmental Health, and the Center for Disaster Resilient Communities at the University of Washington.
*Scholarship covers registration fees only, not travel.
Speaker Information
Organizers
EcoOp Spring into Action: Street Cleanup
Join us for a spring cleaning litter pickup! Let’s make the neighborhood cleaner and greener!
Meet outside the Kresge Building by the revolving door. All are welcome, bring a friend!
Please RSVP to susan_bottino@harvard.edu. This event is weather-dependent.
Organizers
Social Media Platform Design, Algorithmic Systems, and Digital Harm: A Virtual Judicial Training for Judges and Law Clerks
Prepare for the social media algorithm issues already reaching courts
Courts are increasingly asked to evaluate claims involving harms happening to social media users – especially young people. This training explains social media platform design, algorithmic recommendation systems, and alleged harms they are causing to children. It provides a practical, legal framework for judicial evaluation, including core concepts in evidence and causation of harm, and how legal theories of products liability and speech protection may apply.
What the Training Covers
• How engagement-based algorithms work in social media feeds—and how platform design features shape user behavior (e.g., infinite scroll, autoplay, notifications)
• Predictable patterns of alleged harm (exposure, escalation, and engagement-related harms)
• Evidence and causation: correlation vs. causation and limits of available research and platform data
• Legal doctrines courts are applying, including First Amendment considerations and Section 230
• Judicial tools and guardrails (expert testimony, amicus briefs, independent risk audits, and more)
Who Should Attend
The training was expressly designed for federal and state court judges and law clerks, but everyone is welcome to attend.
Format
Expert presentations, brief anonymous polls, guided discussion, and live Q&A with the virtual audience; session recorded with an edited version shared excluding discussions, chat, and audience attendee names.
Agenda at a Glance
- 12:00–1:20 PM ET — Expert presentations, anonymous polls, and live Q&A
- 1:20–1:30 PM ET — Break
- 1:30–3:00 PM ET — Expert presentations, anonymous polls, wrap-up, and live Q&A
Support
This training is free to attend thanks to support from the American Association for Justice Robert L. Habush Endowment and the Becca Schmill Foundation.
Speaker Information
- Nancy Costello, JD – Clinical Professor of Law; Director, First Amendment Law Clinic, Michigan State University College of Law; Director, McLellan Free Speech Online Library.
- S. Bryn Austin, ScD – Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School; S. Jean Emans, MD, Endowed Chair in Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital; Research Scientist in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital
- Jacob Appel, MPA – Chief Strategist, ORCAA Collaborative Expert Assistance Network
- Jill R. Kavanaugh, MLIS – Program Manager, Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders; Boston Children’s Hospital
- Riley Houldsworth, BA – JD Candidate, Michigan State University College of Law
- Kylee Nemetz, JD – Litigation Attorney
- Judge Brock Swartzle, JD – Michigan Court of Appeals