Creating Compelling Research Narrative Workshop: Strategies for Effectively Presenting Your Science
July 7, 2025 | Livestream, virtual training
Registration is open! Join us for the next Creating Compelling Research Narrative Workshop on July 7, 2025.
In the Creating Compelling Research Narrative 5-hour short course, you will learn narrative concepts, identify those concepts in various pieces of scientific writing, and put those concepts into practice to craft an effective research story so you can write more effective grant proposals, manuscripts, and more.
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Jump to: Overview | Audience & Requirements | Instructors | Scholarships | Location | Testimonials | Registration Fees | Additional Information
Workshop Overview
Summer 2025 date: Livestream, online training July 7, 2025; 10am EDT - ~3pm EDT
This five-hour hands-on writing workshop covers several approaches to create compelling research narrative and is led by expert instructors with more than two decades of experience providing research writing, editing, and training for researchers worldwide. This intensive workshop will lead you through detailed examples, revise writing in guided group settings with instructors, and then put those lessons into practice on your own writing. Thus, we encourage you to bring a draft in progress (e.g., grant proposal, research manuscript), so this workshop can directly impact an active writing project. Participants also will come away with an SOP for writing logically and will learn some additional narrative tricks and tips to entice and engage readers on their science.
By the end of this writing intensive workshop, participants will have:
- A clear and organized approach for writing manuscripts and grants
- Several easy grammar concepts for clear communication
- Examples to share/work with their trainees
- An improved portion of your own grant or manuscript (if you bring it with you to the workshop)
Audience and Requirements
Investigators at all career stages are welcome to attend, and we particularly encourage research trainees and early-stage investigators to participate. To register for this training, you must have:
- Written at least one thesis chapter, manuscript, or grant
- A grant or manuscript that is in progress is strongly encouraged, but not required to attend this training.
Instructor
Jessica K. Lerch, PhD, Co-Founder, CareerVolt; Founder, Significance, Innovation, Impact. Dr. Lerch earned her PhD in Neuroscience at Case Western. She then completed postdoctoral training at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami and went to a Research Assistant and then a tenure-track Assistant Professor appointment in the Department of Neuroscience at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. In late 2017, Jessica moved to a science consulting role with Eva Garland Consulting, helping small biotechnology companies and researchers across the world strategize their science to achieve grant funding for their R&D and early-phase clinical trial projects. Jessica started her first company, Significance, Innovation, Impact, in 2018 as a grant-writing consultant. In 2019, Jessica joined with long-time friend and colleague Dr. Sheila Cherry to launch CareerVolt, born of their shared desire to help scientists succeed in their career paths by filling skills gaps and supporting attainment of professional goals. Since moving into consulting in 2018, Jessica has helped individuals and small and large biotech raise over $65 million in grant funding.
Sheila M. Cherry, PhD, Co-Founder, CareerVolt. Sheila earned her PhD in Genetics at Case Western. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in 2009 she founded Fresh Eyes Editing to provide editing and writing support for scientists around the globe. During its 13 years in operation, Fresh Eyes helped investigators worldwide to secure hundreds of millions in research funding--tallying more than $275 million just in US federal funding. Recognizing some common skills gaps, particularly with respect to writing grant proposals and applying for funding, Sheila began offering workshops, online training, and individual career development programs in 2016. Sheila is a Certified Editor in the Life Sciences as well as a Certified Executive Coach. She is passionate about helping researchers achieve their career goals.
Craig Layman, PhD, Research Leadership and Success Consultant, CareerVolt. Dr. Layman received his PhD at Texas A&M University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with a minor in Philosophy. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and was the Donnelley Fellow at Yale University. He is a Senior Fellow in the Andrew Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability and a Research Professor in the Biology Department at Wake Forest University. He was a Full Professor at North Carolina State University, a Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Fellow in the Applied Ecology Department, and a founding member of the Global Environmental Change and Human Well-being Cluster. Craig is passionate about academic writing, reflected by his more than 160 scientific publications and over 17,000 citations, his successful grantsmanship, and his mentorship of hundreds of academic colleagues over his career.
Scholarships
Training scholarships are available for the Creating Compelling Research Narrative Workshop.
Location
Summer 2025: The Creating Compelling Research Narrative Workshop will be a livestream, remote training that takes place over live, online video on July 7, 2025 from 10am EDT - ~3pm EDT. Please note this training is not a self-paced, pre-recorded online training.
Testimonials
"I've seen good research narrative in papers and I've heard the story is important, but translating that to my own work has been a challenge. The Creating Compelling Research Narrative Workshop has demystified key components of this process - pinpointing the skills needed to write compelling papers. I now feel much more confident that, with practice, I can write successful papers and grants more efficiently - and I feel excited to put in that practice." - Postdoc at University of Minnesota, 2024
"The Creating Compelling Research Narrative Workshop was highly effective, providing participants with clear, practical techniques for enhancing their research narratives, and was well-received for its engaging delivery and interactive components." - Postdoc at New York University, 2024
Additional Testimonials
"The workshop and activities involved were very useful to considering what is required to write a compelling narrative and how to employ simple strategies that will greatly improve the flow of your writing." - Student at Northeastern University, 2023
"I can't wait to apply these strategies to my academic writing! Thank you so much, Jessica and team!" - Faculty member at Stanford University, 2023
"Very helpful workshop. Helped me identify some shortcomings in my writing that I had not realized before." - Postdoc at University of Southern California, 2023
Registration Fees
| Early-bird Rate (through 5/15/25) | Regular Rate (5/16/25 - 7/1/25) | Columbia Discount* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student/Postdoc/Trainee | $595 | $695 | 10% |
| Faculty/Academic Staff/Non-Profit Organizations/Government Agencies | $695 | $795 | 10% |
| For-Profit Organizations | $895 | $995 | NA |
*Columbia Discount: This discount is valid for any active student, postdoc, staff, or faculty at Columbia University. If paying by credit card, use your Columbia email address during the registration process to automatically have the discount applied. If paying by internal transfer within Columbia, submit this Columbia Internal Transfer Request form to receive further instructions. Please note: filling out this form is not the same as registering for a training and does not guarantee a training seat.
*Mailman Alumni Discount: This discount is valid for any individual who graduated from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. To access the Mailman Alumni discount and receive a registration code, please email sharp_program@cumc.columbia.edu your graduation year and degree.
Invoice Payment: If you would prefer to pay by invoice/check, please submit this Invoice Request form to receive further instructions. Please note: filling out this form is not the same as registering for a training and does not guarantee a training seat.
Registration Fee: This fee includes course material, which will be made available to all participants both during and after the conclusion of the training.
Cancellations: Cancellation notices must be received via email at least 30 days prior to the training start date in order to receive a full refund, minus a $75 administrative fee. Cancellation notices received via email 14-29 days prior to the training will receive a 75% refund, minus a $75 administrative fee. Please email your cancellation notice to Columbia.Narrative@gmail.com. Due to workshop capacity and preparation, we regret that we are unable to refund registration fees for cancellations <14days prior to the training.
If you are unable to attend the training, we encourage you to send a substitute within the same registration category. Please inform us of the substitute via email at least one week prior to the training to include them on attendee communications, updated registration forms, and materials. Should the substitute fall within a different registration category your credit card will be credited/charged respectively. Please email substitute inquiries to Columbia.Narrative@gmail.com. In the event Columbia must cancel the event, your registration fee will be fully refunded.
Additional Information
- Register for the Creating Compelling Research Narrative Workshop.
- Subscribe for updates on Workshop details and registration deadlines.
- Contact the Creating Compelling Research Narrative Workshop team.
The Creating Compelling Research Narrative Workshop is hosted by Columbia University's SHARP Program in the Mailman School of Public Health.
Jump to: Overview | Audience & Requirements | Instructors | Scholarships | Location | Testimonials | Registration Fees | Additional Information