: About Me

Alicia has been a full-time freelance editor since 2008, using her B.S. in Biochemistry and PhD in Experimental Pathology to specialize in proofreading academic submissions by nonnative English speakers. She has edited more than 600 scientific manuscripts, textbook chapters, grants, and dissertations/theses. Alicia's dissertation work was on the role of SNPs in the human AT1R gene in hypertension. She also taught graduate level Pathology, including infectious disease and HIV/AIDS, and sometimes acts as a writing consultant for biotech projects.

Alicia is currently the Helium Medical Sciences Channel Manager and team leader of the Helium Fact-check Team. If you have any concerns or questions regarding interactions with a fact-check team member or the process, or about writing in Medical Science titles, please feel free to use the Contact link on the right.

Since 2007, in addition to writing on Helium, Alicia has been a contributing writer and given editor's choice at Suite101, and as of July 2011 is the Suite101 Topic Editor for AIDS/HIV. She also blogs at and been Editor's Pick at Open Salon and has her own health liaison website and blog, Maeflowers. An article she authored on the history of HIV exclusively appeared in the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of PostivelyAware. In addition, several of Alicia's articles have been used as stock content and she has been a health contributor at a number of websites.

Alicia grew up in Indiana and attended graduate school in New York, but she now calls northern New Hampshire home. She enjoys crafts and photography, frequenting many online venues and galleries, having been a part of the online world for more than 12 years, when she setup her first website by hand coding HTML.

My passion is ...

knowledge

I know too much about ...

infectious disease

My parents always told me ...

I think I know too much

My childhood ambition ...

to be an artist and a doctor and a teacher and a.....

Why I write ...

to better understand and to help others understand, too

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

"DNA" by James Watson

My inspiration ...

life

Health & Fitness > Cancer Needle versus surgical breast biopsy after abnormal mammogram

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Breast biopsy is the removal of breast tissue, which is required to determine the cause of abnormalities seen on mammogram. A biopsy may be done under other conditions, such as finding a lump upon physical examination. Removing the tissue allows pathologists to look at the structure of the cell layers and structures within the breast to determine if cancer is present. There are two primary categories of breast biopsy: needle and surgical (often called ‘open breast biopsy’). They both attempt to remove tissue from within the breast where the abnormal mammogram signature was seen...

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Writing:

Rating:

• Marketplace Premier Writer
• Editorial Advisory Board
• Medical Researcher
• 2Marketplace Articles Sold
• Marketplace Approved Writer
• Channel Manager Medical Science
• Helium Charter Member