Our mission is to help researchers ensure that their ideas and hard work are communicated in an accessible, engaging, and impactful manner.

Collectively, our dedicated team has decades of experience in developmentally editing scientific writing to the highest standards, whether for
grant applications, research manuscripts, or other scientific writing needs.

Working closely with clients, we provide support for:

• Grant idea generation and development
• Developmental editing and polishing of grant applications
  and research manuscripts
• Creating publication-quality figures
• Preparation of effective slide decks and interview
  coaching

We also deliver interactive workshops to help researchers better understand how to conceive, plan, and write funding applications and research manuscripts.

While our focus is on the life sciences, we have experience working with clients in physical sciences, social sciences and humanities.

Andrew gained his PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Manchester, UK, studying fungal protein trafficking and secretion. He was subsequently a Microbiology Editor at Springer Nature for more than a decade, joining Nature Reviews Microbiology in 2008 as an Associate Editor after a brief stint as Locum Editor on Nature Cell Biology. Over the following 4.5 years Andrew developed a passion for microbiology, editing reviews and writing on all aspects of the field. Andrew then joined the Nature team as Senior Editor, handling research manuscripts from across the field and championing microbiology in Nature’s pages (and beyond). In 2015 Andrew became the Chief Editor for the launch of Nature Microbiology, which quickly became established as one of the premier journals in the microbiology publishing landscape. Andrew left Nature Microbiology in 2019 to establish Germinate Science Consulting and work closely with researchers to strengthen research grants and manuscripts, as well as providing a range of other science communication services.

Cláudio studied biochemistry at the University of Porto (Portugal), before earning his Ph.D. in Life and Health Sciences from the University of Minho (Braga, Portugal), studying how immune cells respond to tuberculosis infection. During his PhD and post-doc, he spent 8+ years as a researcher working at the intersection of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases, sharing his time between Portugal and the United States, in the laboratories of Margarida Correia-Neves (at the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, Braga, Portugal), Samuel Behar (first at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA, and then at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA) and Christophe Benoist (at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA). In 2014, Cláudio moved to London (UK), to join Nature Reviews Microbiology, where between 2014 and 2016 he worked as an Associate Editor, locum Chief Editor and Senior Editor. In March 2016, Cláudio moved to Nature Microbiology, where he served as a Senior Editor until February 2022, helping it grow into one of the leading journals in the field. In his 7+ years of editorial work, he handled manuscripts, wrote and edited pieces across virtually all areas of the field. Cláudio is fascinated with microbes, infectious diseases and how they impact public health, and since September 2021 is studying part-time for a Global Master of Public Health at Imperial College London. In February 2022 he joined Germinate Science
Consulting (GSC) to work more closely with researchers and help with their communication needs – including in strengthening manuscripts, research grants or helping with tailored communications to a variety of audiences. Outside of work, Cláudio enjoys spending time with his partner and two kids, traveling, playing football and board games, cooking and craft beer.

Gemma gained a PhD at the University of Sussex in 2005 on DNA damage responses and worked on DNA replication in a post-doc at Cancer Research UK. She became an editor in 2006, mostly at Nature Reviews Cancer as a Senior Editor for over 10 years. She also worked at Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology and assessed papers on a freelance basis for Nature and Nature Communications. In 2017, Gemma moved to Science where she commissioned, edited and peer-reviewed Perspectives and Reviews across biology. She became the Deputy Editor of the Insights section in 2022, managing a team to deliver high-quality Perspectives and other commentary every week. After more than 18 years at Nature journals and Science, Gemma became a freelance editor and joined Germinate Science Consulting in October 2025 to focus on working directly with researchers. Gemma has handled articles across biology, with a particular focus on biomedicine (cancer, neurological diseases, metabolic diseases, infectious diseases, biomaterials, and AI).