Finish & Publish

PhD & Research Rescue

For PhD students and researchers who are stuck: the project has stalled, the supervisor relationship has broken down, the paper keeps coming back, or the contract runs out before the thesis is done. I help you work out what is actually wrong and build a plan to finish.

Who this is for

This is for you if your PhD or research project has stopped moving and you can’t see the way out on your own. Most people who write to me have months of work behind them, a deadline in front of them, and one of four problems: the data, the supervisor, the writing, or their own energy. Often it is two of them at once.

A PhD that has stalled for months, with chapters half written and no submission date.
A supervisor who doesn’t reply, keeps moving the goalposts, or disagrees with you about the paper.
An authorship dispute in the group, before or after submission.
A paper rejected or sent back with a major revision you don’t know how to answer.
Data or a simulation that doesn’t hold up, and a thesis built on it.
Funding or a contract ending before the work is finished.

What we work on

We start with a diagnosis, because the visible problem is rarely the real one. A stalled thesis is often a scoping problem; a supervisor conflict is often a disagreement about what “finished” means. Once we know which it is, we plan around it.

Diagnosis Data, supervisor, writing, or you: we find out which one is really holding the project back, using your actual material.

A recovery plan with dates What to finish, what to cut, what order to do it in, and a realistic timeline to submission.

Difficult conversations Drafts and scripts for the emails and meetings you have been avoiding, written so they move things forward.

Honest triage Which results are publishable as they stand, which need more work, and which belong in the thesis only.

Rejections and revisions Reading the reviews with you, deciding what to change, and building a response that answers every point.

Technical second opinion For materials and simulation work, I check the data or the model itself, not only the writing.

When the problem is your supervisor

If the problem is your supervisor, the goal is to protect your degree and your working relationship at the same time. That usually means agreeing in writing what the supervisor wants, delivering it visibly, and keeping a record. Most conflicts I see come from unclear expectations, not bad intent, and they ease once both sides can see the same plan.

Where it is more serious, such as silence for months, a blocked paper, or a dispute over authorship, we work out the order of steps: a direct conversation first, then the graduate school, the ombudsperson or the research integrity office if needed. For authorship questions, the COPE guidance and the ICMJE authorship criteria give you a neutral reference both sides can accept.

Why me

I have sat on both sides of this: as a PhD researcher in Germany, and as someone who supervises students and reviews papers for journals. I know what reviewers and supervisors are looking for, and I can read the science, not only the prose.

150+manuscripts reviewed for international journals

20+BSc and MSc theses supervised

15+countries my students came from

9 yrsin German academia, now faculty in Saudi Arabia

I also sit on the editorial board of Discover Materials (Springer Nature), so I see from the inside how editors decide what goes out for review.

As a mentor and senior, he has been a constant source of wisdom, encouragement, and genuine kindness. His ability to blend technical excellence with empathy makes him an exceptional role model in both engineering and life. I truly learned the essence of real research methodology from him and applied it to achieve many milestones in my scientific career. Throughout the past six years in Germany, Dr. Qayyum guided me with patience and clarity, inspiring me to think beyond conventional approaches, to think outside the box, and to embrace challenges with curiosity and purpose. Muhammad Umar, PhD Researcher, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany

How it works

Tell me what’s going on. A few lines on your situation, your deadline and what you have already tried. I reply within two working days.
Roadmap session. A 60-minute video call. I read what you send beforehand, so we spend the time on decisions.
Written plan. Within five working days you receive a plan with steps and dates that you can carry out on your own.
Your choice. Use the plan alone, or continue with me through reviews or monthly mentoring until you submit.

What I do and don’t do

Everything you share is confidential. I never contact your supervisor or institution unless you ask me to.
I don’t write your thesis or papers. You remain the author, and you follow your institution’s rules on outside help.
I am not a lawyer or an ombudsperson. For formal complaints I point you to your graduate school or ombuds office.
I can’t guarantee a degree, a publication or a supervisor’s decision. I can make sure your next steps are the right ones.

Common questions

Is what I tell you confidential?

Yes. What you share about your supervisor, your group, your data and your manuscript stays between us. I don’t name clients, and anonymised examples I use elsewhere are changed so nobody can be identified.

Can you talk to my supervisor for me?

Not by default. I never contact your supervisor or your institution unless you ask me to and we agree exactly what I say. In most cases you are better served by a well-prepared conversation or email of your own, and I help you write it.

Will you write my chapters or my paper?

No. You stay the author. I diagnose, review, explain and plan, and you make the changes. That keeps the work yours and within your university’s and journal’s rules on outside help.

What if my supervisor is blocking publication?

First, get the manuscript to the standard your supervisor and co-authors have asked for, in writing, and keep a record of what was requested and delivered. If it is still blocked, use your institution’s routes: the graduate school, the ombudsperson or the research integrity office. COPE guidance on authorship disputes is a useful reference for those conversations.

How fast can we start?

Usually within a week. Send a few lines about your situation and your deadline. If the deadline is close, say so, and we start with the decision that matters most.

Tell me what’s going on

Write a few lines about where you are stuck and when your deadline is. I’ll tell you honestly whether I can help and where we would start.

Start with a Roadmap Book a free 15-min call