Editorial Standards

Copy for your department or program’s website should follow Associated Press (AP) style, with a few exceptions and additions as detailed here.

Web copy should adhere to the practices established by the Office of University Communications for style. 

Dean’s title

The correct title is “Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, vice president for health sciences and dean, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.”

Keep the title lowercase in newsletters and news releases. For example:

“UB is proud to partner with other SUNY institutions in developing the Clinical Trials Network in neurology,” said Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, vice president for health sciences and dean, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

If you include the full name of the school in your copy before introducing this title, shorten the school’s name in the title. For example:

The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences added 35 faculty positions in 2013, said Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, vice president for health sciences and medical school dean.

Other School-Specific Style Guidelines

In addition, certain standards apply to matters specific to the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Academic departments

Capitalize when using an official department name: “Jane Green works in the Department of Biochemistry.”

Lowercase department in plural uses, but capitalize the proper name element: the departments of Orthopaedics and Psychiatry.

Otherwise, use lowercase: “Matthew Jones applied to the biochemistry department.”

Prepositions and articles should be lowercase in all instances.

Academic degrees and titles

Do not use the courtesy title “Dr.” except in direct quotes: “Dr. Smith has published many papers in peer-reviewed journals this year,” said John Hunter, MD.

When abbreviating degrees, do not use punctuation: “BS,” “MD,’’ “PhD” and so on.

Buffalo Translational Consortium

Use “Buffalo Translational Consortium” when referring to the 11 Western New York institutions and four community partners involved in clinical and translational research. On second reference, “BTC” is acceptable.

Hospital references

Always include UB faculty titles and affiliations in addition to hospital titles.

Limit hospital descriptions to what directly affects the care provided by the UB faculty or staff member. Readers can access information about a hospital’s history, ranking, structure, etc., via a link to that institution.

When someone’s residency or fellowship took place at UB, it must state that the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences was the program sponsor, not the hospital. This applies to references to residencies and fellowships on all pages, including, but not limited to, biographical profiles.

Mailing addresses

Mailing addresses should include the following elements:

  • department or program name
  • building name and room number
  • “University at Buffalo,” not “SUNY,” “SUNY-Buffalo” or other variations

Do not use “South Campus” or street addresses such as “3435 Main St.” These can actually impede mail delivery.

Oishei Children’s Hospital

Use this name when referring to the hospital on Ellicott Street.

Physician-scientist

Always hyphenate “physician-scientist.”

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

The official name of the organization is Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. For a shortened version, their preference is Roswell Park. Do not use RPCCC.

Smart quotation marks

Always use “smart” (curved or slanted) quotation marks.

Most word processing programs automatically convert straight quotation marks to smart ones, but web design programs, including our own content management system, generally do not. Refer to our guide on special characters for instructions on making smart quotes in these programs.

Spaces at end of sentences

Use one space at the end of a sentence, not two.

UB’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences

Always use the full name on first reference. On second reference, “the center” is acceptable. Do not include UB in the link.

UB Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Always use “UB Clinical and Translational Science Institute” on first reference. On second reference, “CTSI” is acceptable. Do not include UB in link text. 

UB Clinical and Translational Science Institute refers to the building located at 875 Ellicott Street in Buffalo, NY.

UBMD Physicians Group

UBMD should be used without a ‘pipe’ character (|) in the middle.

University at Buffalo

Do not use variations such as “SUNY,” “SUNY-Buffalo,” etc.

VA Western New York Healthcare System (VAWNYHS)

The VA Western New York Healthcare System is the employer; the Buffalo VA Medical Center is where VA employees work.

Use “VA Western New York Healthcare System (VAWNYHS)” on first reference. On subsequent references, it can be referred to as “VAWNYHS”.

Use “Buffalo VA Medical Center” (Buffalo VAMC) when referring to the VA's medical building on Bailey Avenue.