October 17, 2007

This journal comes
with a happy ending

After falling on hard times, a student-run medical journal is riding high again with a wider audience on the web and a new staff. Founder Milton Winternitz would be proud.

Students in medicine and the sciences collaborate on the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, with assistance from the school and faculty. Seated, from left, are Alison Laufer, co-editors-in-chief Kristin Patrick and Janice Friend, and Mary Ellen Leuver; standing, from left: Warren Andiman, Karen Olson, Julia Irwin, Andrew Mara, Jeffrey Bender, Maria Lebedeva, Charles Greer, Jennifer Round and
David Wacker.

When Milton Winternitz conceived of his much-vaunted “Yale system” of medical education, a key element was a student-run journal that would serve as a learning tool as well as a place for students to publish their original thesis research.

The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine made its debut in October 1928. It has been published continuously ever since and remains the longest-running internationally recognized medical journal edited and published by students.

Despite its august pedigree, the future of the YJBM in recent years has looked uncertain. Faced with financial insecurity and the departure of two longtime contributors (the faculty advisor and the editorial coordinator), publication of the quarterly journal had slowed to a crawl by the summer of 2006.

But, thanks to the efforts of a succession of student editors determined to turn the journal around, as well as support from faculty, administrators and alumni, the YJBM is back on track and arguably stronger than ever. Stronger than ever because it now has a new editorial coordinator, Karen Olson, and a new web site: yjbm.yale.edu. As of this past summer, it became available through a site on PubMed Central, the National Institutes of Health’s digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature. This development is part of a new movement in scientific publishing that rejects the subscription-based model in favor of open-access publishing. The public now has free access to the scientific literature through well-established outlets, such as PubMed Central.

Journal as classroom

“The journal is part of the history of the Yale medical school,” says Jeffrey Bender, the Robert I. Levy Professor of Preventive Cardiology and the journal’s faculty advisor. “It’s carved into the fabric of the school, one of the pieces that make the Yale medical school unique.”

Bender credits the two current editors-in-chief, Janice Friend, a 6th year Ph.D. student in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, and Kristin Patrick, a 5th year student in the microbiology Ph.D. program, as well as their two immediate predecessors, medical student Adam Licurse and graduate student Richard Wing, with putting the journal back on solid footing. Their efforts have included aggressively soliciting high-quality papers and instituting a well-organized structure for reviewing manuscripts and responding to contributors. Others who led during the journal’s transition include co-editors-in-chief Laura Pedraza and Jinelle Jindal in 2005-2006. Former Deputy Dean for Education Herbert Chase made the journal’s transition one of his final projects before leaving in 2006, and his successor, Richard Belitsky, has continued financial support.

Bender also points to the journal’s presence on PubMed Central, which has the potential to give articles exposure to a larger readership than ever before. Down the road, he predicts, this will lead to the journal establishing a favorable impact factor—a rating based on the number of times a journal is cited in other papers and journals and a major draw for attracting high-quality submissions.  

Besides being a serious journal in which students can publish their thesis abstracts, Bender says the YJBM ties in with the school’s educational mission. “It’s a chance for students to learn about peer review, which is a huge part of science, and about editing and scientific writing. It’s a superb form of early training.”

Patrick, who took over as co-editor-in-chief in April, says she hadn’t been satisfied with the quality of the submissions when the journal was floundering, but now she and an editorial team of roughly 10 are working to broaden the submission pool and seek out the best work. “Our standards have risen significantly,” she says. “Good quality controlled experiments and well-written papers, that’s our long-term goal.”

Friend, who is interested in a career in scientific publishing, says her work with YJBM has been invaluable. “I’ve learned a great deal about what makes a good or successful article, how to effectively solicit articles, what does and does not work in delegating tasks and tactful communication with authors.” 

On and on, across the university

A typical issue is about 100 pages long and contains original articles, medical and scientific review articles, book and software reviews, and case reports. Student thesis abstracts are published annually. The editorial board, which meets once a month, is made up of students and faculty members from the medical school and the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Faculty members are recruited from across the university and from other institutions on a case-by-case basis to help review articles related to their fields of expertise.

Though still behind schedule, the YJBM is about to publish a special issue on cancer, which Patrick called a high-water mark for the journal. The next special issue will focus on biotechnology and how technologies in genomics and proteomics are influencing science and clinical research.

To keep the journal headed in the right direction, board members are exploring ways to promote and advertise it. They’ve also started recruiting new medical and Ph.D. students to take over when they graduate. “The goal is to become self-perpetuating, so we don’t face the kind of problems we had before,” Patrick said.

—Jennifer Kaylin

Photo by John Curtis

For more information about the YJBM, or for guidelines for authors or article request forms, visit yjbm.yale.edu.

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