The academic scientific enterprise rewards those with the longest CVs and the most publications. Under pressure to generate voluminous output, scientists often fall prey to double publishing, self plagiarism, and submitting the “minimal publishable unit.” Are these ethical gray areas, or true transgressions?
Ushma S. Neill
While the JCI was originally conceived as a journal that would integrate various scientific approaches to the examination of human physiology and pathophysiology, we now find many of its pages filled with animal models of human disease. Is this a good thing?
Laurence A. Turka
Until recently, journal editorial operations and decisions seemed impenetrable to me. Now I have a view from the inside out.
Laurence A. Turka
Since it seems many of the articles we’re accepting continue to have image rearrangements and changes in them that are not consistent with JCI policy, we thought it might be a good idea to spell out exactly what is, and more importantly what isn’t, allowed.
Ushma Neill, Laurence A. Turka
A new sheriff is in town: as of March 1, 2007, the editorial board of the JCI will be based at the University of Pennsylvania. While our core mission to provide the best venue for biomedical research remains the same, we plan a number of refinements that we hope will benefit our readers, authors, and referees.
Laurence A. Turka
As stewards of the JCI, we are responsible for instituting and sustaining the highest possible standards for integrity. To this end, we have established a very specific set of guidelines for handling potential conflicts of interest — not only for authors and referees, but also for ourselves.
Ushma S. Neill, Craig B. Thompson, Marc Feldmann, William N. Kelley
Much has changed in the 5 years since the responsibility for editing the JCI was transferred to Columbia University. Wars and a hurricane have conspired with other factors to overwhelm the national treasury. Support for investigator-initiated research at the NIH is now at a level that jeopardizes the nation’s ability to adequately train future scientists to maintain the country’s leadership in biomedical research. Indeed, there is insufficient support for even the best and brightest biomedical scientists to pursue the frontiers of the sciences at a time of unprecedented opportunities. Human embryonic stem cell research is still being suppressed in the United States. Economic models that enable academic health centers to flourish in the face of increasing challenges and the rising costs of health care have for the most part remained elusive. Translational research has become the buzzword, but there is widespread confusion and disagreement about how to do it. Despite all of these and other challenges to the biomedical research enterprise, the JCI remains vibrant, with record numbers of submissions and a loyal and enthusiastic readership.
Andrew R. Marks
Historically, physician-scientists have had dual roles in caring for patients and in performing investigative research that could potentially lead to new diagnostics and therapeutics. Physician-scientists conducted teaching rounds in the hospital, surrounded by eager house staff and medical students, and were often avidly pursued as the most important sources of new knowledge for trainees. But alas, times have changed. Now physician-scientists are rarely seen in the hospital; they are most often spotted at their desks tapping out yet another grant application. Most struggle to find the time to mentor students and clinical trainees, let alone to care for patients in the hospital, even though these interactions are often the motivating forces for scientific creativity.
Andrew R. Marks
Just as a simple phrase can become convoluted in the childhood game of Telephone, research findings can be distorted in the lay press. Journalists and scientists themselves must share the responsibilities of better explaining and interpreting science in an accessible and meaningful context for nonspecialist readers.
Brooke Grindlinger
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