FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016
Contact:  Leah C. Payne, Director of Public Affairs, Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy, 304-691-1713

Marshall Journal of Medicine celebrates its first anniversary

HUNTINGTON, W.Va.— During the past 365 days, Darshana Shah, Ph.D., founding editor-in-chief of the Marshall Journal of Medicine and associate dean for the office of faculty advancement with the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, has learned volumes about the world of academic publishing.

She has guided the creation, development and execution of the journal since the day the school’s dean, Joseph I. Shapiro, M.D., suggested the idea of an online, peer-reviewed and open-access medical journal, a concept she was vaguely familiar with at the time.

“When Dr. Shapiro asked me to create a  journal, I did not know the magnitude of the task involved,” Shah said. “However, I did understand the significance of creating our own journal and that it was an outstanding  opportunity to get our educators and  researchers engaged in a scholarly conversation on a global platform.”

Shah added that launching a new journal is not a small task.

“It requires an effective team with a common goal and shared vision. I am fortunate to be supported by a team that encompasses these qualities, especially our editorial board members, journal staff and committed reviewers for providing the support and feedback necessary to find, develop and publish high-quality material,” she said.

The journal, which marks its first anniversary as a quarterly publication this month, has published 45 original articles, reviews, case reports, commentaries and more. The articles have been downloaded nearly 4,900 times in 102 countries around the world since its inception. The Marshall Journal of Medicine is currently indexed in Google Scholar and can be easily accessed through CrossRef(USA) and, notably,in BrowZine.

“Dr. Shah has done an incredible job of building a publication that highlights research germane to our Appalachian region,” Shapiro said. “The journal is playing a pivotal role in enhancing our research enterprise and I’m grateful for its success.”

As an open-access publication, the Marshall Journal of Medicine facilitates online collaboration among educators and researchers and allows them to build on the findings of others without the restriction of access to subscriptions. Academic journal subscriptions are the traditional financing method for publication of scholarly work and are increasingly cost prohibitive for some institutions. Conversely, the open-access business model charges an author’s fee once a paper has been accepted for publication.

“The upfront cost is often paid by the author’s funder or their institution,” Shah said. “The author rarely has to bear the cost out-of-pocket. At Marshall, our fee is quite modest at just $400 and the fee is reduced to $100 for students and trainees who are first author.”

Working with technical and library support from Marshall University Libraries, Shah and the journal’s editorial board solicit articles online on a rolling basis.

Submissions are accepted from any academic institution involved in health care education.

In addition to Shah, current editorial board members for the Marshall Journal of Medicine including faculty members from Marshall’s School of Medicine and West Virginia University School of Medicine: James Becker, M.D.; David C. Borgstrom, M.D., James Denvir, Ph.D.; Mehiar El-Hamdani, M.D.; Susan L. Flesher, M.D.; Suzanne Holroyd, M.D.; Aravinda Nanjundappa, M.D.; Osama Al-Omar, M.D., Mohammed Ranavaya, M.D., J.D.; Nalini Santanam, Ph.D., M.P.H.; and Franklin Shuler, M.D., Ph.D.  Staff members include: Sona Sharma, copy editor; Ed Dzierzak, library consultant; and Nancy Webb, administrative associate.

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Date Posted: Tuesday, October 25, 2016