This presentation will be relevant to FPMRS specialists who write and publish scientific papers. The panel includes experienced scientific authors and editors of key journals who will share their perspectives on writing habits, best practices for manuscript preparation, and navigating the publication process.

1.  Examine some of the “strategic” issues related to manuscript preparation, including selecting an appropriate journal and navigating “authorship” with your co-authors
2.  Describe how experienced authors approach writing the sections of a scientific manuscript
3.  Prepare for the process of responding to a critique of your submitted work
4.  Understand leading Editors’ perspectives on how manuscripts are evaluated and what makes a “great” manuscript

Victoria L. Handa, MD, MHS
Dr. Handa is a Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She currently serves as the Chair of the department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and she is the Deputy Director (vice chair) for the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Department of Gyn/Ob. She also holds a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Handa is co-director of the Johns Hopkins Women’s Center for Pelvic Health, a clinical program that combines expertise in Urogynecology, Urology, Colorectal Surgery, and Physical Therapy. She is a co-editor of the TeLinde’s Operative Gynecology. Her research, supported by several NIH grants, has focused on the link between childbirth and the development of pelvic floor disorders. Dr. Handa has authored over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Her research has been recognized with numerous awards, including a 2011 Pitkin Prize from ACOG, the 2007 President’s Award from SGS, the 2015 American Journal of Ob Gyn Impact Award, and several awards from the American Urogynecologic Society.




Catherine Bradley, M.D., M.S.C.E., is a Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine with secondary appointments as Professor in Urology and Epidemiology (College of Public Health). She is Division Director of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery and Fellowship Program Director in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery (FPMRS). Dr. Bradley is recognized nationally and internationally as a clinical and epidemiologic researcher in female pelvic floor disorders and academic leader in FPMRS. She completed her Ob-Gyn residency and FPMRS fellowship as well as Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania before joining Iowa’s faculty in 2003. Dr. Bradley’s research interests focus on diagnostic and outcome measures for urinary incontinence in women and on risk factors and symptoms associated with urinary incontinence and other pelvic floor disorders. Her past research funded by the NIH and VA has included developing and testing a new diagnostic questionnaire for female urinary incontinence and a nationwide longitudinal study of women veterans to better understand temporal associations between mental health disorders and overactive bladder/urgency urinary incontinence. She currently co-leads Iowa researchers in a NIH-funded network studying women and men with lower urinary tract dysfunction to develop an innovative symptom-based instrument and to collect detailed longitudinal data to better understand phenotypic subgroups of patients. In addition to her positions at the University of Iowa, Dr. Bradley is currently Gynecology Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and she was elected in 2020 to a 4-year term on the Executive Board for the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS), currently serving as Vice President.






Linda Brubaker, MD, MS Clinical Professor Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences University of California San Diego Dr. Brubaker is a board-certified FPMRS specialist at the University of California San Diego. She is a prolific researcher with well over 350 publications and multiple NIH awards, including serving as a PI for the NIDDK Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (PLUS) Research Consortium. Her current research focus is the human urobiome, recurrent UTI and bladder health. She is an Associate Editor for JAMA and the Editor in Chief for the Journal of FPMRS. Dr. Brubaker has an illustrious academic profile, including service as the Dean of the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine for nearly 6 years. Dr. Brubaker has received multiple awards which include the Lifetime Achievement Award (American Urogynecologic Society), induction into AOA (2013), Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit Honor Society, the 2007 APGO Excellence in Teaching Award, the 2003 Rush Medical College Distinguished Alumnus Award and the various Faculty Teaching Awards. She has served as the president (and program chairs) of both the American Urogynecologic Society as well as the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons. She recently completed her term as the Division Director for the FPMRS division of ABOG.



Steven E. Swift, MD, is Professor and Division director of Urogynecology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. Dr. Swift earned his medical degree at Ohio State University, College of Medicine. He then performed a residency in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Medical University of South Carolina, which was followed by a fellowship in the Division of Urogynecology at the University of California at Irvine. He has given numerous lectures, both in the United States and abroad, and has published a dozen book chapters and over 90 articles in such journals as American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, International Urogynecology Journal, and Journal of Urology, Neurourology and Urodynamics, to name a few. He has earned several teaching awards and has participated in several national and international teaching academies. He is a member of several professional societies, including the American Urogynecologic Society and the International Urogynecology Association, Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics, among others. In addition, he is the Co-Editor-in-Cheif for the International Urogynecology Journal.