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Medlin + Panter Writing Support
Who We Are
We are uniquely positioned to support writers in the health and biological sciences due to our unusual combination of perspectives, bringing together lab research and journalism backgrounds. Together, we have advised over a thousand students and trainees on high-stakes writing projects, including at a leading academic medical center, with high return rates and student satisfaction. We strongly believe that writing support for the sciences is an area of unmet need that has significant implications for early-career success, and it is our goal to address this need.
Marianne Medlin, Ph.D.
Marianne Medlin, Ph.D.
My background in the humanities informs my work in the health sciences, where I help develop clear arguments and support disciplined, effective writing. I hold a Ph.D. in Theology and Religious Studies from Liverpool Hope University and bring over two decades of experience in writing and editing across academic publishing, nonprofit journalism, and writing support at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and, previously, the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Michaela Panter, Ph.D.
Michaela Panter, Ph.D.
Since graduate school (Ph.D. Immunobiology, Yale University), I have known that helping other scientists to write about their work is my calling. Over the past 18 years, my experience has included working as a scientific editor – focusing on research articles and laboratory protocols – and as a writing consultant for students and trainees in health and biological sciences at Yale University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.
Our Work
Students who have worked with us have gone on to publish in respected journals, match into top residency programs, win fellowship funding, and submit their dissertations on time and with confidence. We know how to identify what makes a document compelling and how to shape it so it meets the expectations of competitive academic and clinical settings. Our work is careful, individualized, and grounded in experience across both the sciences and the humanities, which allows us to provide guidance on both the argument and the story.
Our Perspective on AI
As many turn to AI to assist with writing, strong academic work still depends on human judgment. AI tools can support aspects of the drafting process, such as brainstorming and copyediting, but they can't determine what matters most in your argument or how your voice should carry it. In academic writing, scholarly voice is built on your unique combination of training and research and a holistic understanding of your reader, which AI can’t replicate. For personal statements, the distinctive interplay of your experiences and motivations is what makes these essays compelling, but this perspective can’t be forced into the generic narrative arcs favored by AI. Using AI in academic writing carries additional risk, as many journals, funders, and academic institutions are discouraging or even forbidding AI use, and high-stakes documents such as personal statements require careful self-representation.
Through collaborative dialogue, we work closely with each student to understand the context for their writing, to help them think through their arguments, and to draw out relevant details. Thanks to our years of experience as writing consultants in the sciences as well as our PhD training, we know which questions to ask to clarify your thinking and sharpen your narrative. We can also help you use AI deliberately when it’s useful and learn to set it aside when it isn’t. Our focus is on developmental feedback that preserves your ownership of your work, with the right balance of technology and expert guidance behind it.
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