About Second Sky Medical Writers (Carol E. Bower)

Carol E. Bower is a scientist and educator, with an extensive background in research, medical communications, and community health assessment and planning, particularly writing and editing in the biological and health sciences.

Publications
Carol is the author of three books and manuals, and more than 100 peer-reviewed research papers in journals, government reports, invited chapters, health improvement plans, book reviews, and other publications.  She writes for all audiences, from children and consumers to graduate students, scientists, and physicians, and specializes in writing for the Web and writing plain-language materials that promote health literacy. 

In addition to her own writing, she has reviewed and edited hundreds of manuscripts for journals and books, many while serving on the Editorial Advisory Board of Aquaculture, an international science journal.

Carol has served on many editorial and proposal review panels, and also has written Requests for Proposals and successful grant proposals to private foundations and government agencies. This experience has given her acuity at "polishing" grant proposals to ensure clarity, internal consistency, and conformity with specifications in Requests for Proposals and Applications by state and federal government entities.

Career Path
During an eclectic career spanning 40 years, Carol has done pharmaceutical research (Geigy Chemical Co.), tropical disease research (Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School), and has been a high school science and math teacher, public aquarium curator, director of an aquatic research laboratory, technical director of an aquatic toxicology laboratory, and a public health researcher and planner.  

Areas of Expertise
Carol's areas of writing and editorial expertise include: 

• The biology, microbiology, and chemistry of marine and freshwater aquariums and closed seawater culture systems

• Parasites of tropical marine fishes

• Natality and mortality statistics and trends
   

• Cancer, diabetes, asthma, and other chronic diseases 

• HIV/AIDS, Lyme disease, vaccine-preventable diseases, and other infectious diseases

• Adult and youth behavioral risk factors (tobacco use, obesity, physical activity, nutrition, health screenings, etc.)

• Injury and violence prevention

• Population health (women, racial and ethnic minority groups, sexual minorities)

Planning and Priority Setting
Carol also has extensive experience in health improvement planning and public health priority setting. She authored a manual on health improvement planning that was adopted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), for inclusion in its Toolbox, a repository of available resources to help local public health practitioners. 

She also developed and conducted workshops for public health professionals on writing a health improvement plan and setting public health priorities using evidence-based methods.

Design
With an interest in art, graphic design, and photography, Carol has designed surveillance reports, plans, and other publications, including cover design and graphics.

Some of her work has gained national recognition, including a MarCom Gold Award; and one of her reports, the Healthy Connecticut 2010 Final Report, was featured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its Healthy People 2020 introductory Webinar.

Other Interests
Carol is a member of the American Medical Writers Association and served on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Cancer Partnership from 2002 to 2010. She currently serves on the Partnership's Prevention, Communications, and Data, Surveillance, & Evaluation Committees, and was Web Site Editor for the Partnership until 2009.