How to write a scientific paper

This two-hour seminar is open to any student or researcher in training who are interested in learning more about scientific writing. While the seminar is specifically designed for researchers working at the interface between technology and medicine, it is of potential interest for anyone working in scientific research. The seminar provides a reflection on why scientists should publish. It then offers an historical framing to the development of scientific publications, that eventually brings the so-called IMRAD structure that is commonly used in modern scientific papers. It then provides information about the type of publications, and the most common editorial rules. Last, each element of a scientific paper is presented in detail, with useful practical information on the structure, the content, the formal elements, and some additional advises specific for interdisciplinary publications. The seminar then provides a description of the editorial process, reflect on how writing relates to the research project itself, and provide some information about open access publishing.

Marco Viceconti is full professor of Computational Biomechanics in the department of Industrial Engineering of the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Italy. He also has a joint appointment at the Medical Technology Lab of the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute and is visiting professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Sheffield, UK, where he founded and led for seven years the prestigious Insigneo Institute for in silico Medicine. Prof Viceconti is an expert of neuromusculoskeletal biomechanics in general, and in particular in the use of subject-specific modelling to support the medical decision. He is one of the key figures in the in silico medicine international community: he is VPHI Board of Directors member and Board member of the Avicenna Alliance.