--- title: AJE Blog | Ben Mudrak, PhD description: Dr. Mudrak graduated from Duke University with a PhD in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and performed over eight years of research on pathogenic bacteria at Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For several years, Dr. Mudrak led webinars and workshops on academic writing and publishing as part of AJE's Author Education program. --- [Skip to content](https://blog.aje.com/en/author/ben-mudrak-phd/page/1#main-content) English - [简体中文](https://blog.aje.com/zh-cn/aje-blog) - [English](https://blog.aje.com/en/author/ben-mudrak-phd/page/1) English - [Home](https://www.aje.com/) - [Services](https://www.aje.com/services/) Basic Content ## H2 Heading Module Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. BUTTON Blog Listings ## H2 Heading Module Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. [![](https://blog.aje.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Researcher-with-pipette-3.jpg)](https://blog.aje.com/en/ways-to-increase-productivity-in-research-lab) [Author Resources](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/author-resources), [Research Process](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/research-process), [Life in the lab](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/life-in-the-lab) ### [4 Ways for Researchers to Maximize Their Time in the Lab](https://blog.aje.com/en/ways-to-increase-productivity-in-research-lab) April 4, 2025 Have you ever spent so much time in your research lab that it feels like you live there? [Button](https://blog.aje.com/en/ways-to-increase-productivity-in-research-lab) [![](https://blog.aje.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Researcher-writing-presubmission-inquiry-academic-journal-3.jpg)](https://blog.aje.com/en/how-to-write-presubmission-inquiry-academic-journal) [Submitting to a journal](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/submitting-to-a-journal), [Publishing process](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/publishing-process), [Author Resources](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/author-resources), [Journal editors](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/journal-editors), [Peer review and publication](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/peer-review-and-publication), [Communicating with editors](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/communicating-with-editors) ### [How to Write a Pre-Submission Inquiry for an Academic Journal](https://blog.aje.com/en/how-to-write-presubmission-inquiry-academic-journal) April 4, 2025 Finding the right journal match for your article is a difficult process, especially with the tens of thousands of... [Button](https://blog.aje.com/en/how-to-write-presubmission-inquiry-academic-journal) [![](https://blog.aje.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/preprint_post_thumbnail-1.png)](https://blog.aje.com/en/benefits-of-preprints-for-researchers) [Publishing process](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/publishing-process), [Citations](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/citations), [Author Resources](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/author-resources), [Journal submission](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/journal-submission), [Sharing Your Research](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/sharing-your-research), [Peer review and publication](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/peer-review-and-publication), [Preprints](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/preprints), [Working papers](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/working-papers) ### [What are Preprints, and How Do They Benefit Authors?](https://blog.aje.com/en/benefits-of-preprints-for-researchers) April 4, 2025 Most researchers don't share their work until after it's been published in a journal. Due to lengthy publication times,... [Button](https://blog.aje.com/en/benefits-of-preprints-for-researchers) [![](https://blog.aje.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/a612ed9c-06c8-4896-ac72-f94999f1c601_hero-writing-a-journal-cover-letter-for-submission-1.jpg)](https://blog.aje.com/en/writing-cover-letter) [Finishing Touches](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/finishing-touches), [Publishing process](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/publishing-process), [Back to School series](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/back-to-school-series), [Author Resources](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/author-resources), [Cover letter](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/cover-letter), [Peer Review](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/peer-review), [Downloadables](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/downloadables), [Journal editors](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/journal-editors), [Journal submission](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/journal-submission), [Communicating with editors](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/communicating-with-editors) ### [Writing a Cover Letter for Journal Submission \[Free Template\]](https://blog.aje.com/en/writing-cover-letter) April 4, 2025 The cover letter accompanying your journal submission is your chance to lobby on behalf of your manuscript. The letter... [Button](https://blog.aje.com/en/writing-cover-letter) [![](https://blog.aje.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Researcher-looking-through-microscope-1.jpg)](https://blog.aje.com/en/materials-and-methods-7-writing-tips) [Author Resources](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/author-resources), [Research Process](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/research-process), [Writing a Manuscript](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/writing-a-manuscript), [Writing and translation](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/writing-and-translation), [Materials and methods](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/materials-and-methods) ### [Materials and Methods: 7 Writing Tips](https://blog.aje.com/en/materials-and-methods-7-writing-tips) April 1, 2025 One critical aspect of publishing research is describing the methods used in enough detail that the experiments can be... [Button](https://blog.aje.com/en/materials-and-methods-7-writing-tips) [![](https://blog.aje.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/5db5f217-3497-4eb1-8b8d-7b61a761bc09_hero-how-to-write-grant-that-will-get-funded-2.jpg)](https://blog.aje.com/en/how-to-write-grant-that-will-get-funded) [Author Resources](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/author-resources), [Concise writing](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/concise-writing), [Grants](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/grants), [Sharing Your Research](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/sharing-your-research) ### [How to Write a Grant That Will Get Funded](https://blog.aje.com/en/how-to-write-grant-that-will-get-funded) April 1, 2025 While every scientist is drawn to answering big questions and making new discoveries, not everyone is excited about how... [Button](https://blog.aje.com/en/how-to-write-grant-that-will-get-funded) [![](https://blog.aje.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Network-pixabay-610-Nov-12-2024-02-30-04-1725-PM.png)](https://blog.aje.com/en/creative-commons-intro) [Choosing a journal](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/choosing-a-journal), [Author Resources](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/author-resources), [Images](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/images), [Copyright](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/copyright), [Licenses](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/licenses), [Online scholarly publishing](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/online-scholarly-publishing), [Creative Commons](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/creative-commons), [Open access](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/open-access), [Figures](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/figures) ### [Creative Commons Licenses: An Introduction for Researchers](https://blog.aje.com/en/creative-commons-intro) March 27, 2025 An increasing number of journals are moving beyond copyright to license their material more openly. One very popular... [Button](https://blog.aje.com/en/creative-commons-intro) [![](https://blog.aje.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Figures-white-wall-610-Nov-12-2024-02-33-19-4700-PM.jpg)](https://blog.aje.com/en/avoiding-image-fraud-7-rules-editing-images) [Publication ethics](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/publication-ethics), [Author Resources](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/author-resources), [Journal guidelines](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/journal-guidelines), [Images](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/images), [Copyright](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/copyright), [Data tables and figures](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/data-tables-and-figures) ### [Avoiding Image Fraud: 7 Rules for Editing Images](https://blog.aje.com/en/avoiding-image-fraud-7-rules-editing-images) March 21, 2025 Figures represent an extremely important, yet often overlooked, aspect of a scientific paper. Figures are often one of... [Button](https://blog.aje.com/en/avoiding-image-fraud-7-rules-editing-images) [![](https://blog.aje.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/AJE_Gold_Medal_Researcher-3.jpg)](https://blog.aje.com/en/gold-medal-researcher-2016) [Author Resources](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/author-resources), [Poster](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/poster), [AJE News](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/aje-news), [Industry Insights](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/industry-insights), [Research Process](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/research-process), [Figures](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/figures), [Travel grant](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/travel-grant) ### [Gold Medal Researcher 2016](https://blog.aje.com/en/gold-medal-researcher-2016) March 21, 2025 During the month of August, AJE hosted a Gold Medal Research competition. In this competition, 475 researchers were... [Button](https://blog.aje.com/en/gold-medal-researcher-2016) [![](https://blog.aje.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/How-to-gain-peer-review-experience-2.jpg)](https://blog.aje.com/en/gaining-peer-review-experience) [Publishing process](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/publishing-process), [Author Resources](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/author-resources), [Peer Review](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/peer-review), [Peer review and publication](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/peer-review-and-publication), [Early career](https://blog.aje.com/en/tag/early-career) ### [Gaining Peer Review Experience](https://blog.aje.com/en/gaining-peer-review-experience) March 21, 2025 Peer review is a critical part of scholarly publishing. When done properly, it catches errors, combats fraud, and helps... 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