Testimonials

Brain Research UK

I worked with Brain Research UK to review their research communications, and provided some recommendations for how to improve how they talk about their research with supporters.

Here’s what Katie Martin, Research Manager at Brain Research UK, said about working together:

“We support a broad portfolio of fantastic research but recognised that we were not engaging our supporters as well as we could be.

“We were looking for a fresh perspective and Richard reached out to us at a key point in time. We had an initial discussion with him to see what help he might be able to provide, to support better engagement with our supporters, and better demonstrate what we are achieving through our research funding.

“Richard listened to our needs and suggested starting with a discrete ‘audit’ of our different outputs – including our website, newsletters, social media – to identify specific improvements.

“Richard produced a succinct and insightful report that set out constructive feedback on our existing comms, with pragmatic suggestions on how we could improve these. This was followed up with a helpful Zoom call during which we had the opportunity to discuss the report and possible next steps. He also provided a copy of his more detailed notes on each of the materials that he’d reviewed.

“Richard was a pleasure to work with, friendly, and very efficient. Having Richard’s fresh, outside perspective has been incredibly valuable. It has helped us to reflect on the way in which we tell the story of our research, both the bigger picture and the finer detail, and will guide improvement going forward.

“We hope to work with Richard further in the future, to help implement the recommendations made.”

Katie Martin, Research Manager, Brain Research UK.

Blood Cancer UK

In 2025 I wrote the copy for Blood Cancer UK’s Research Strategy document.

Here’s what Dr Richard Francis, Deputy Director of Research, said about working with me:

“Our old research strategy was published in 2021, when we were coming out of the COVID pandemic, so our research budget and plans were relatively limited. Since then, we’ve been able to bounce back and have big organisational ambitious for our research funding. We wanted a new strategy that would reflect these ambitions but also have a clearer narrative on our research priorities and what matters to us for the future of our research programme.

“We didn’t have copywriting capacity within the charity, and we were keen to have a new strategy that was cohesive and well-written. We also had relatively short timelines as we were aiming to get the strategy signed off by our board within a couple of months.

“Richard came highly recommended from several colleagues who had worked with him before, as being easy to work with and producing high quality work. For the research strategy we wanted someone with a good understanding of research. After having a chat with Richard, we realised his expertise and approach would be a great fit for our project.

“Richard was great to work with throughout the development of the new strategy. He set out a clear plan and expectations at the start of the project, stuck to deadlines and had good communication throughout. Richard took on our feedback and worked with us on areas that needed more clarity.

“We are really pleased with the final strategy – the copy brings to life our vision and works well with our brand and creative. We’ve had some great feedback from across the organisation and key external stakeholders.

“We now have a document that sets out our ambitions and clear narrative for our research funding programme. This will ensure the research community knows the priorities of people affected by blood cancer that informed the strategy, they are aware of the ways we want to fund, and our underpinning funding principles. This will ensure we fund high quality research that will save and improve the lives of blood cancer patients.

“We’ve already had great feedback from the research community and our trustees on how clear and useful the strategy is. We also expect the strategy will help our income generation by showcasing our ambitions and future direction of research funding.

“I’d be happy to recommend Richard for similar projects.”

Dr Richard Francis, Deputy Director of Research, Blood Cancer UK.

FSHD Global Research Foundation

I helped FSHD Global update their new website in 2024. Here’s what the team said about working with me.

“Richard Berks is talented with the ability to turn complicated information into simplified messaging with warm tones. He is able to weave science narrative in a storytelling manner to communicate and connect with an audience.

“He is articulate, fast and a team player. It was a pleasure to work with Richard.”

Natalie Cooney, Chairperson, FSHD Global Research Foundation.

“It was so wonderful to work with Richard on this project. With very limited time and input from us, he expertly crafted messaging at the right level for our community to be empowered and informed. Thank you.”

Emma Weatherley, Managing Director, FSHD Global Research Foundation

Fight for Sight

I worked with Fight for Sight / Vision Foundation to write case studies to highlight the impact of research they had recently funded.

Sean Fox, Acting Head of Research at Fight for Sight, said:

We know we have funded great research in the past, and we were eager to document the impact this has had, to show our supporters how their help makes a difference to people with sight loss.

We approached Richard to provide additional comms capacity while Fight for Sight was merging with another charity. Richard is well-known among medical charities, and has a reputation as solid writer while being very easy to work with.

We’re very happy with the pieces he has written, they really fit the bill. The scientists he worked with were also very pleased to receive them. Richard has been a pleasure to work with and very accommodating to our requests.

We will use the impact case studies in our annual reports and other documents when reporting to stakeholders, as well as current and potential supporters.

Sean Fox, Acting Head of Research, Fight for Sight

Anthony Nolan

I worked with the stem cell transplantation charity Anthony Nolan to write blogs to support their ‘B2B’ marketing of research partnerships with academia and industry.

Sarah Rushworth, Senior B2B Marketing Manager at Anthony Nolan, said:

I had the pleasure of working with Richard on a series of projects following a recommendation from a colleague who had worked with him before. At the time, our organisation faced a skills gap when it came to finding a science writer capable of effectively communicating complex topics to both mass and commercial audiences.

Richard and I collaborated on a range of blog posts, aimed at illustrating various research projects and commercial partnerships. The experience was great as Richard is a talented writer and a knowledgeable scientist. His ability to bridge the gap between scientific concepts and layman understanding is perfect for the charity sector.

His approach is collaborative and he took the time to understand our organisation’s goals and the nuances of each project, split out by audience. He communicated with me throughout the process, ensuring that he was always on the right track and open to feedback.

I would recommend Richard to any organisation seeking a science writer. His combination of scientific expertise and communication skills make him an asset to any project.

Sarah Rushworth, Senior B2B Marketing Manager, Anthony Nolan

Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis

I worked with Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis over the course of a few months, giving them feedback on some of the their key research content, and deliver an ideas generation workshop to come up with ways to engage patients in research.

Wendy Adams, Director of Research at Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis, said of our time together:

We have really valued Richard’s support over the last few months.  Although we’d really like dedicated research comms resource, being able to access his expertise and upskill the team has been invaluable. We really loved his open approach, and meeting us where we are, without judgement. 

We were lacking confidence in communications, but Richard’s tangible feedback on our work has really helped us to improve our writing. 

The cross-team ideas generation workshop was a revelation, with hundreds of ideas generated, some of which we are taking forward.

Richard’s brief time with us will continue to influence our work. Thank you so much.

Wendy Adams, Director of Research, Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis

Replacing Animal Research

I worked with Replacing Animal Research (formerly FRAME) to help train their staff on writing about science in a clear and engaging way. Find out more about the project with Replacing Animal Research.

Catriona Sinclair, Head of Fundraising & Communications at Replacing Animal Research, said:

[Replacing Animal Research] has gone through a period of change and growth in recent years. As part of that, we have been developing the way we communicate as an organisation, including defining our audiences, what want to speak to them about, and why. Our team is dedicated and knowledgeable, but we were struggling to write about the research we fund in a simple yet engaging way. 

We had a great time working with Richard to improve our skills in science communication. He created a bespoke training programme for us that helped guide the team through best practise in written science communication, and raise confidence in their own skills.

Thank you, Richard!

Catriona Sinclair, Head of Fundraising & Communications, Replacing Animal Research

Leukaemia UK

I worked with Leukaemia UK to help update some of the content on their website for a brand relaunch after a merger. Find out more about this project here.

Dr Dawn Farrar, Director of Impact for Leukaemia UK, said:

Before we started working with Richard, we had recently gone through a merger, and although we were a small charity, we had big plans to grow. Having funded research into leukaemia for a number of years, we were aware that we needed to do more to showcase the amazing research currently being funded, as well as the impact of historic projects.

A Research Comms Manager was on our ‘wish list’ for new staff members, but we knew this is a specialist skill and may take some time to recruit the right person.

Richard was recommended as the ideal person with the right expertise we urgently needed to fill the gap. The recommendation was that he could easily assess what was needed, and provide research content of high quality to suit our requirements.

During our time working together, he produced high-quality, understandable summaries for our lay audiences that showcased our current research, as well as case studies of impact of previous research.

Richard was accessible, responsive, and quickly interpreted what was required – he was a pleasure to work with.

Dr Dawn Farrar, Director of Impact for Leukaemia UK

University of Manchester

I wrote three impact case studies for the University of Manchester to highlight their work into the “3R’s” of animal research. Find out more about the project here.

Michael Addelman, Media Relations Officer for the University’s Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, said:

“The University invests much time and effort into 3Rs research: replacement, reduction, and refinement of animal research. As part of our agenda to embrace the principles of openness in animal research, we’re keen to illustrate the excellent work that goes on in this important area at Manchester. The European Animal Research Association campaign – called Be Open on Animal Research Day 2022 (#BOARD22) – was a great opportunity to do this. To support the campaign, we commissioned Richard to write case studies highlighting three research projects with 3Rs elements.

“Richard is a talented and reliable writer. His work was to the highest of standards, beautifully written and structured. He worked independently with the minimum of supervision required, and finished on deadline. The project was commended by senior colleagues and had a positive impact on various social media platforms. It was great working with Richard – we would definitely commission him again.”

Michael Addelman, Media Relations Officer for Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester

Medical Research Foundation

I wrote three research impact case studies for the Medical Research Foundation – find out more what this work involved here.

Jack Stonebridge, Senior Communications Manager for Medical Research Foundation, said:

I had a great experience working with Richard on the Medical Research Foundation’s first ever Impact Report – a landmark piece of comms for our charity.

Richard was tasked with writing three research case studies, as well as one piece profiling support we’ve received over the years from the giving public. This involved considerable research and background reading, five interviews, and of course lots of writing and editing.

I was delighted with the resulting case studies. Richard was able to communicate complex research on antimicrobial resistance, rare genetic disorders and ‘in vivo’ imaging, in a clear and engaging way, while staying true to our tone of voice. He provided regular progress updates and met all of our deadlines.

The published Impact Report and case studies provide vital evidence on what our researchers have achieved thanks to donations from the public. We’ve had excellent feedback from supporters, researchers and trustees, and the publication will continue to be a key resource for our communications and fundraising in the future.

I wouldn’t hesitate to work with Richard again, and would definitely recommend him for any research/fundraising comms projects.

Jack Stonebridge, Senior Communications Manager, Medical Research Foundation

Muscular Dystrophy UK

I helped Muscular Dystrophy UK to update information on more than 30 of their research projects – find out more about the work I did with them.

Dr Kate Adcock, Muscular Dystrophy UK’s Director of Research, said:

Before we worked with Richard, we had a backlog of research projects that needed updates writing for our website and we didn’t have the capacity ‘in-house’ to manage this.

Richard not only cleared the backlog, but gave us some really great advice about how we can enhance our research web pages.

Because of his scientific background and great expertise in written communications, he rapidly got to grips with the complex nature of many of our research projects, and brought them to life in ways that are easy for our audiences to understand.

I appreciated his enthusiasm to hear about MDUK and the work that we do. It was also really easy to talk to him about some of the challenges that our community faces, so that the language used was sensitive to these challenges. He also kept me informed of progress and delivered the work in the timeframe that we agreed.

Dr Kate Adcock, Director of Research, Muscular Dystrophy UK

Harry’s HAT

I worked with Harry’s HAT to do a content audit of their information about hydrocephalus, and information for healthcare professionals, before writing new information ahead of a website relaunch.

“We were really happy with the work that Richard did, and really enjoyed working with him.

“He provided us with the ability to look at our audiences from different perspectives, which will be helpful to us going forward. The information he wrote will make our website much more relevant and useful to our audience – and as a team we already feel more confident in our understanding of hydrocephalus. His work has also helped us to hone our messaging, which has been useful when thinking about how we provide support in a wider context.

Caroline Thwaites, Founder of Harry’s HAT

Tommy’s

I worked with Tommy’s to update information about their research, which aims to make pregnancy and birth safer for all. Lizzie D’Angelo, Tommy’s Research & Policy Director, said:

“Richard got in touch with us at exactly the right time – we were developing our research communications strategy, with a new focus on storytelling and impact. We spoke via email and worked out that Richard would be able to provide valuable support in translating our complex research centre scientific reports into public-facing communications.

“Richard was very proactive, and great at keeping us updated with the project. He was quick to ask questions, but also very comfortable working without close supervision or direction. This was a huge asset within our time-poor team.

“Richard’s work gave us the motivation to audit our research content and is leading into a new approach to how we communicate the impact of Tommy’s ground-breaking research.

“A big thank you for all the work you’ve done!”

Lizzie D’Angelo, Research & Policy Director, Tommy’s

Read some of the lay summaries I wrote for Tommy’s here.

Breast Cancer Now

“Richard has extensive experience in research communications, a deep knowledge in the field of breast cancer research, independence and the ability to lead projects with minimal direction.

“I can drop Richard a quick email with a task with minimal instructions and know he’ll figure out how to approach it and produce something of good quality.

“He’s very approachable, reliable, easy to talk to and has a ‘can do’ attitude. With Richard, I could feel the project was in safe hands, and he responds very positively to feedback.”

Kotryna Temcinaite, Research Communications Manager, Breast Cancer Now

Read some of the lay summaries I have written for Breast Cancer Now here.

Children with Cancer UK

I worked with CwCUK to update their website information pages on symptoms and treatments for children with cancer. Shingi Parirenyatwa, Digital Marketing Manager at Children with Cancer UK, said:

“Richard got in touch with us offering to help with specialist scientific copy to improve our Google visibility about our cancer type information and the research programmes we help fund. His content has always been relevant and delivered on time, and I can see that he has knowledge and expertise within the field.

“We’ve benefited from the content Richard provided, as our keywords for the treatment and symptoms pages have been organically ranking highly in the SERPs since we updated the copy.”

Shingi Parirenyatwa, Digital Marketing Manager at Children with Cancer UK

Read some of the lay summaries I have written for Children with Cancer UK here.

MQ: Transforming Mental Health

In 2019 I worked with MQ: Transforming Mental Health on their Mental Health Science Meeting. Hannah Myerson, Communications Officer at MQ: Transforming Mental Health, said:

“We’d worked with Richard on an article previously, and we were really excited by how quickly and effortlessly he picked up on our brand’s tone of voice. When we were looking support with our flagship event, it felt like a natural progression to approach him. Richard wrote the live blog for the event (the Mental Health Science Meeting), as well as three supporting blogs.

“From a professional point of view, Richard impressed all of us with his writing skills and his ability to communicate complex science in a clear and exciting way. He honoured deadlines, was flexible where necessary and went above and beyond our expectations by really taking the initiative to ensure that the digital user experience was as easy as possible.

“We were really excited to see how well the live blog performed – Richard’s work surpassed our benchmarks, both on page views and average time spent on-page.

“Personally speaking, Richard was easy-going, friendly, ready to brainstorm ideas and happy to work as part of our team during the event.

“Richard was brilliant to work with and he’ll always be an honorary member of the MQ Comms Team!”

Hannah Myerson, Communications Officer, MQ: Transforming Mental Health