My First Paper: Dr Laura Bonnett

Posted on: 17 March 2022 in March 2022 posts

Dr Laura Bonnett, Senior Lecturer in Medical Statistics & Royal Statistical Society William Guy Lecturer tells us all about her first research paper. Laura's primary interests are in the development and validation of clinical prediction models for people with recurrent conditions such as epilepsy and asthma.

What was the title of your first paper and who was it submitted to?

My first paper was about the risk of seizure reoccurence after the first seizure and the implications of this risk on the patient in terms of driving or regaining their driving licence 12 months after a seizure. This was a randomised controlled trial; the Multicentre study of Early Epilepsy and Single Seizures (MESS) compared treatment policies in people with early epilepsy or following a first single seizure and was published in the British Medical Journal in 2010. 

The Multicentre study of early Epilepsy and Single Seizures (MESS) was a randomised controlled trial that compared the policies of immediate or deferred treatment in people presenting with a first unprovoked seizure or with early epilepsy. The trial remains the largest reported study of patients with single seizures and early epilepsy, and although the primary purpose of the study was to compare treatment policies,

How would you explain what this paper was about to your grandparents?

I would tell them that the paper looks at the risk of further epileptic seizures based on their age, gender and family history of seizures from the viewpoint of someone with epilepsy regaining their driving licence following a seizure. 

What was the most significant thing for you about that paper?

The paper was published along with an invited editorial.

What advice would you give to others about submitting their first paper?

Go for it – this paper was on about version 15 before we sent it to the journal. The journal then sent many more revisions before we reached the final publication.

You can read Laura's paper here and find out more about Laura's research here.