Janet Salisbury BSc Hons, PhD, ELS
Janet
Salisbury has a PhD in experimental oncology from Manchester University,
UK and continued her career in cancer research at St George's Hospital
Medical School, London (1976–1982), the University of Melbourne
Department of Medicine (1983–1984) and the John Curtin School of
Medical Research (1986–1988).
After leaving research, and when her children were young, Janet was a tutor in biology and environmental science at the University of Canberra. She started freelance writing and editing work in 1990. At the same time, she also developed expertise in toxicology and pharmacology by preparing evaluation reports on agricultural and veterinary chemicals, drugs and food additives for the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
Since that time she has written and edited numerous reports, proceedings and other publications, researched, evaluated and summarised a range of public health and clinical data, and worked with numerous expert advisory committees to collate and present scientific information for practitioners, policy makers and the public.
When she is not at Biotext, Janet enjoys gardening, boogie board riding and singing. She is also a Joey Scout leader.
Hilary Cadman
Hilary
Cadman joined Biotext in October 1999. She has a PhD in biochemistry and
worked in medical research for a number of years before spending 10 years
as a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe. During this time, she continued
her research in biochemistry and immunology (including several projects
on animal diseases), coordinated a masters program in biotechnology and
organised regional and local workshops, including the first African Immunology
Meeting. She returned to London in 1998 where she completed a masters
in science communication at Imperial College in 1999.
A passionate advocate of the environment, when not hard at work on a Biotext project, Hilary can be found in her permaculture garden. She is also keen to improve the eating habits of Canberra’s schoolchildren and enjoys playing tennis.
Malini Devadas
After
completing her PhD in neuroscience at the Australian National University
(ANU) in 1997, Malini worked as a postdoctoral fellow in Japan for four
years. Since returning to Canberra in 2001, she has gained experience
in science administration and communication through her work for the Australian
Research Council and as executive officer of the National Institute of
Health and Human Sciences, ANU. Malini joined Biotext in February 2004.
Malini is currently (2006) studying for a Graduate Certificate in Editing and Publishing, through the University of Southern Queensland.
Malini is a talented musician and french horn player and brings culture to the Biotext environment through her involvement in the National Capital Orchestra. She is also a member of Twilight Toastmasters.
Meg Heaslop
Meg has a background in biomedical
science and palaeopathology. In 2003, she completed an honours project
comparing different techniques (including light and scanning electron
microscopy) to diagnose disease in forensic and archaeological human bone.
She also has a graduate diploma in science communication (from The University of Queensland) and is currently completing a certificate in evidence-based medicine (through Monash University). Meg gained practical experience in scientific journalism while working as a science
writer for the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution
(Massey University, New Zealand) from November 2003 to February 2004.
Meg joined Biotext in early 2005, and now manages Biotext’s Brisbane office, which opened in October 2005.
Meg can’t live without
a daily run and when she
is not at work, can usually
be found pounding the streets
and open spaces of Brisbane.
She is also a passionate
photographer.
Eve Merton
Eve has an academic background in the biosciences and communication studies, and she is currently (2006) writing a PhD investigating how biotechnology researchers communicate about their work. She has worked as a science journal editor, a science writer, a media researcher and a tutor in science communication.
After working with the company for many years as a freelancer, Eve joined Biotext in 2006. She will be managing the new Melbourne office when it opens in January 2007.
Eve is happiest riding her bicycle and thoroughly enjoying the Melbourne weather after four years living in Ireland.
An Van den Borre
After
completing her PhD in botany at the Australian National University (ANU)
in 1994, An worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Sydney
for three years. In 1998, she returned to Canberra to work in the Bioinformatics
Unit at the Research School of Biological Sciences at the ANU, and later
in the Department of Botany and Zoology. In 2001, she studied scientific
and technical writing and editing at the Canberra Institute of Technology,
and has been working as a science writing consultant since 2002. An joined
Biotext in April 2004.
Outside of work hours, An is helping to keep Australia green through her involvement in the Australian Native Plants Society. Biotext staff also particularly enjoy it when she tests out her Belgian chocolate making on us!
Vesna Ratajkoska
Vesna brings to Biotext extensive experience as an office manager and bookkeeper. During the past five years she has worked as a bookkeeper for accounting firm Pitcher Partners (formerly William Buck). Before that, she worked for Nutrition Australia for 12 years as an office manager, a job that complemented her interest in nutrition and healthy food.
Vesna moved to Canberra in 2006 and hopes to continue her hobby of bushwalking, exploring the national parks in the region.
Carolyn Weiller
Carolyn completed her PhD in botany at the University of Tasmania in 1990 and worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Research School of Biological Sciences (RSBS) at the Australian National University for nine years. After this, she worked at the Australian National Herbarium and in the Bioinformatics Laboratory in RSBS.
Carolyn started to do some freelance work for Bitoext in 2006 and joined our inhouse team in early 2007.
Arran Dengate
Arran graduated from the Australian National University in 2006 with a degree in science communication with majors in botany and geology, and joined the Biotext Canberra office in 2007. His interests in technology and illustration are also often useful at work.
After hours, Arran enjoys a range of pursuits, including bushwalking, baking, stepping on crunchy autumn leaves, and sleeping in on cold mornings.
Our freelance assistants
In addition to our inhouse team, we also have a skilled team of freelance assistants for tasks such as copyediting, proofing, word processing and design tasks. A network of other assistants with specific skills help us with literature reviews and other consulting tasks, as required.
Having a team of consultants with a range of skills allows us to process a high volume of work within tight deadlines and to provide backup for each other in the event of an emergency.