About SF BUILD Writing Retreats
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The SF BUILD (Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity) team is excited to have you join us for our 5th annual retreat on held on Tuesday, February 22nd from 10:30AM – 1PM & Friday, February 25th from 9:30AM – Noon all live on Zoom. SF BUILD has traditionally hosted two annual writing retreats in person at off campus locations in the Bay Area (i.e., Mercy Center in Burlingame and Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma), however, due to the pandemic we are continuing a virtual format for Winter 2022. We looking forward to resuming in person writing retreats when it’s safe to do so.
If you’ve ever felt like you never have time to write because of your busy schedule, this retreat is perfect for you. You’ll be joined by 40+ researchers from SF State and UCSF via Zoom. The aim of the writing retreat is to give you dedicated time without interruption to focus on your writing. There are opportunities to get 1-on-1 feedback from seasoned writing consultants if you’re thinking about submitting a grant proposal, manuscript and etc. We hope you’ll take full advantage.
SF BUILD is a project funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Enhancing the Diversity of the NIH-funded Workforce program. SF BUILD is led by San Francisco State University in partnership with University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). SF BUILD’s Principal Investigators are Drs. Leticia Márquez-Magaña (SF State), Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo (UCSF) and Tung Nguyen (UCSF). This event is led by Dr. Alicia Fernandez who leads the Research Engagement Core (REC) of SF BUILD. The Writing Retreats are funded through NIH Grant #RL5GM118984.
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Benefits of Attending
Maximizing Writing Assistance
We encourage all prospective attendees who would like a thorough review of their writing product to submit a draft no later than February 15th, 2021 to the consultant you sign up with (click on their e-mail below to send them an email). You can still take advantage of a 1-on-1 30 minute consultation at the retreat on February 22nd & 25th without submitting a draft beforehand, however, by sending in advance you’ll give our writing consultants more time to give detailed suggestions on improvement.
Future Retreat
Pending the status of the pandemic, those attending this virtual retreat will be placed on the priority list for the SF BUILD overnight writing retreat in Summer 2022 at Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma if it’s safe to meet in person. Some reasons to attend include:
Overnight lodging is provided for FREE.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided.
Peaceful location in the heart of Sonoma.
Cool research peeps to network with.
Writing Consultants

Alicia Fernandez, MD
Dr. Fernandez is Professor of Medicine at UCSF and a general internist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General where she practices primary care medicine and attends on the medical wards. Her expertise is in health and health care disparities, with a strong focus on diabetes, Latino health, immigrant health, and language barriers. Dr. Fernandez is an active mentor of students, residents, fellows, and faculty. She is the Director of UCSF’s Center for Vulnerable Populations Program in Latinx and Immigrant Health and recently awarded a four-year HRSA grant to create a UCSF Latinx Center of Excellence (LCOE).

Jessica Mankus, PhD
Dr. Mankus received her PhD in medicinal chemistry and pharmacology from the University of Mississippi. Her dissertation work focused on a secondary regulatory system for opioids. She then transitioned into research development where she is able to help cultivate and communicate specific knowledge to broader audiences. Dr. Mankus is a Grants Development Specialist at SF State.

Diana Chu, PhD
Dr. Chu researches mechanisms that package DNA during sperm formation that contribute to fertility using the model organism C. elegans. Her research has been published in Nature, eLife, and PNAS. She has written successful proposals to the NIH, NSF, and American Cancer Society and served as a reviewer for NIH and NSF. She is Professor of Biology at San Francisco State University.
Event Organizers

Kenny Leong, BS(c)
Kenny is a student assistant for the SF BUILD Program. Kenny joined the team 3 years ago and supports SF BUILD with event and social media management. He is currently a senior at SF State in the Computer Science Program.

Mariel (Maggie) De Paz Fernandez, MPA(c)
Maggie is SF BUILD’s Program Administrator. She supports both students and faculty within her role at SF BUILD. Maggie is current graduate student within the Masters of Public Administration Program at SF State. She has previous experience in Program Planning and Evaluation which she utilizes in her current role at BUILD.
We look forward to seeing you!
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