Phil Leventhal

Editor Emeritus / Section Editor

Phillip Leventhal, PhD, is a Principal Medical Writer within Medical Writing and Healthcare Communications at Evidera, where he specializes in publication writing. Prior to becoming a medical writer, he was a research scientist in enzymology and cellular biochemistry in academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Phil was Editor-in-Chief of Medical Writing between 2011 and 2020 and is now Editor Emeritus. Phil is also an experienced trainer in scientific writing. 

phil.leventhal@evidera.com 

Contributions

Medical Writing Humour - Volume 30, Issue 4

To celebrate the festive season, we’d like to share with you the elfs’ cover letter. The target journal was the The Polar Express, which has an enviably high impact factor. Santa Claus is its editor-in-chief. We run medical writing courses for PhD…

Medical journalism in a new era - Volume 30, Issue 4

We are living at a time when the general public is increasingly interested in scientific and medical advances. Medical journalism is therefore becoming more important to medical writers, although it is a subject that few of us are familiar with. To…

Medical Writing Humour - Volume 29, Issue 1

We ended our recent Intensive Medical Writing Course at Copenhagen University with a session on cover letters.

Manuscript Writing - Volume 27, Issue 3

Preparing clear, convincing scientific manuscripts is a challenge. In my experience, the biggest problem for most writers is not an inability to write well in English but rather a lack of clarity regarding what their article is supposed to be about.…

Guidelines for disclosing the results from observational trials - Volume 26, Issue 3

Observational trials are a relevant part of clinical research. Publishing their results can be challenging for scientists and writers.  The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement was the first…

Observations and Observational Studies - Volume 26, Issue 3

Our publication, Medical Writing, has always been a work in progress, continually evolving to meet our members’ needs and desires. Originally a four-page newsletter called the EMWA Newsletter, it was renamed The Write Stuff in 1998 and, under the…

Can a medical writer submit a manuscript on behalf of a corresponding author? - Volume 26, Issue 2

Abstract Medical writers are frequently asked to submit manuscripts to journals using the corresponding author’s login information. However, according to the Recommend a - tions of the International Committee for Medical Journal Editors, this is not…

Results of the 2016 EMWA member survey - Volume 26, Issue 1

In October 2016, EMWA’s Executive Committee sent an on-line survey to all EMWA members. The purpose of the survey was to obtain more information about our members, what they do, and what they want from the organisation. 286 responses were received.…

A checklist to improve your writing - Volume 26, Issue 1

In this article, I provide a checklist of eight items to improve your writing. Several of the checklist items are discussed in detail in other articles in this issue of Medical Writing, although I provide explanations and  examples for each item. I…

Structuring paragraphs - Volume 26, Issue 1

Paragraphs are meant to make a text understandable and readable, and to help tell the story. Key aspects of good paragraphs include using topic sentences and story structures. Starting with an outline or a planand using it to build to topic…

Writing Better - Volume 26, Issue 1

As medical writers, we fall within the field of professional writing. Writing well should be essential for us. Unfortunately, training on how to write well specific to our field is hard to come by. Most books focus on preparing scientific articles…

Statistics for medical writers - Volume 25, Issue 3

Until recently, statistics was a subject that I avoided at all costs. I found it difficult to understand and boring, and for years I swore that I would never learn about or be interested in statistics. (By the way, I also swore that I would never…

Letter from the Editor - Volume 25, Issue 1

A step – no a leap – forward In 2012, the journal’s precursor, The Write Stuff, became Medical Writing under the guidance of then Editor-in-Chief Elise Langdon-Neuner. The Write Stuff had been managed almost single-handedly by Elise, and the shift…

Authors and Authorship - Volume 25, Issue 1

Authorship of medical journal articles has been and continues to bea complicated subject. The unethical practices of guest, honorary, andghost authorship and incomplete or biased disclosure of clinical trialdata have led to guidelines meant to…

Writing for lay audiences - Volume 24, Issue 4

For most of us, medical writing is highly technical. We prepare regulatory or clinical documents or write materials targeted to medical doctors. Medical writing for lay audiences is different, and it does not come naturally to most of us because…

In this issue… The Medical Writing Business - Volume 24, Issue 3

As medical writers, we strive not just to survive but to thrive. Threats, opportunities, and complications come from many directions, and how to best position ourselves, our departments, and our companies requires much thought. Money is important…

Manuscript Writing - Volume 24, Issue 2

Medical writers with little experience of writing manuscripts can struggle to organise their thoughts. Linking the information within the different sections of a manuscript can be referred to as ‘manuscript flow’. This article is the last of a…

Risk Management - Volume 24, Issue 2

The thalidomide tragedy of the early 1960s cost several thousand lives, but it ultimately led to changes that will undoubtedly save many thousands more: it triggered a chain of events involving the WHO and the ICH that resulted in the…

In the Bookstores - Volume 24, Issue 1

Non-clinical health writing - Volume 23, Issue 3

We medical writers have a unique and valuable skill set, which includes, most notably, the ability to understand and clearly communicate complex medical information. We are also experts at working with multifunctional teams, compiling detailed…

Manuscript Writing - Volume 23, Issue 1

New medical writers and medical writing students are often unsure how to start writing a manuscript and need help in organizing their thoughts. This is the third in a series of articles that explain how to link the sections and the information…

In this issue of Medical Writing - Volume 23, Issue 1

Some of you might remember the old days when writing was done with a typewriter, spreadsheets were big pieces of paper, and slides were printed on film. Thanks to computers, these are old memories, and we can all be much more productive. Software…

Manuscript Writing - Volume 22, Issue 4

New medical writers and medical writing students are often unsure how to start writing a manuscript and need help organising their thoughts. How to link the sections and information within them is what I call ‘manuscript flow’. This article is the…

Manuscript Writing - Volume 22, Issue 3

Getting started writing a manuscript – or any other document for that matter – can be difficult. Manuscripts are large projects, sometimes taking hundreds of hours and many months to complete. Faced with a blank page or screen, one might be tempted…

Medical writing around the world - Volume 22, Issue 2

As many of you are already familiar, Medical Writing began as The Write Stuff, a publication written by and for EMWA members. One of the goals in making the transition to Medical Writing was that it would become an international journal with readers…

Manuscript Writing - Volume 22, Issue 1

As a medical writer, can or should I be listed as an author of an article? For manuscripts, medical writers often go far beyond providing basic services and therefore may feel entitled to authorship. Medical writers are often the main force behind…

Medical writing education - Volume 22, Issue 1

Although medical writing as a career has been around for a few decades, medical writing education is relatively new. Many medical writers end up teaching scientific or medical writing, and have built their courses and their teaching style without…

Manuscript Writing - Volume 21, Issue 4

Help, I can't shorten my abstract! Oh, yes you can (Part 2 of 2) Abstracts may be the most important part of a manuscript because they are often the only part that is read and used as an information source, and because they are also used by readers…

Paragraphing (Part 1 of 2) - Volume 21, Issue 4

The purpose of paragraphing is to make text understandable and easy to read, and to help you tell your story effectively. Paragraphing is difficult because the purpose of the documents we produce and their readership are diverse. To make matters…

Passing the torch - Volume 21, Issue 4

This issue is the first where I will be serving as Editor-in-Chief of Medical Writing (MEW). Elise Langdon-Neuner, Editor-in-Chief since 2004, will be stepping down. This is yet another step in the evolution of the journal. For those of you…

Manuscript Writing - Volume 21, Issue 3

Help, I can't shorten my abstract! Oh yes you can! (Part 1 of 2) Abstracts are perhaps the most important part of a manuscript because they are often the only part that is read and used as an information source. They are also used by readers…

Writing visually for medical writers - Volume 21, Issue 3

Although content is obviously important for effective documents, the look of a document is also important. If you want someone to read a document, it should be pleasant to look at, and if you want the document to be used, the information should be…

Writing Matters - Volume 21, Issue 3

Writing matters to medical writers … or at least it should. But sometimes we are more consumed with the content of a document than the writing itself. And some might even argue that detailed medical or scientific information cannot be written as…

Manuscript Writing - Volume 21, Issue 2

Guidelines for manuscript writing: Here to help Although sometimes maligned, guidelines make manuscript writing easier and increase the chances of getting published. A good set of guidelines can be used as a checklist (many even include…

Journal Watch - Volume 21, Issue 2

Authorship, ghostwriting, and tips on making scientific writing more enjoyable to read In this issue five papers are discussed covering the subjects of authorship and authorship criteria, ghostwriting and guest authorship, and adding style to…

Manuscript Writing - Volume 21, Issue 1

What are the most common reasons for a manuscript to be rejected (and how can they be avoided)? In their article on handling manuscript rejection, Woolley and Barron1 offer the following soothing advice: Authors, particularly inexperienced…