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Biography |
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Faina Linkov is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Womens Research Institute. Dr. Linkov holds PhD in Epidemiology, MPH in the Community and Behavioral Health Sciences, and Certificate of Advanced Studies in Global Health from the University of Pittsburgh. Her current research activities concentrate on the use of biological tumor markers to detect malignancies at early stages and on the link between obesity and cancer. Specifically, she is looking at how weight reduction through exercise or bariatric surgery might influence decrease in cancer risk. Dr. Linkov served as a peer reviewer for the British Medical Journal (BMJ), Journal of Medical Internet Research, and others. She published over 80 research papers and chapters in the field of cancer epidemiology and global health. In the past twelve years, Dr. Linkov has been working with Professor Ronald LaPorte in the Global Health Network Supercourse Project (www.pitt.edu/~super1), specifically focusing on issues related to quality control of online materials. Dr. Linkov is one of the core developers of the Supercourse of Science Project, hosted in the Library of Alexandria. One of the main goals of the Supercourse developers is to close the digital divide and deliver public health education materials to faculty members in the developing world. Dr. Linkov’s efforts within the Supercourse focus on bringing the Supercourse model to Central Asian countries.
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Abstract |
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From scientific journals to scientific magazines: evolution of scientific productivity |
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The number of journal publications in high impact journals is one of the most widely recognized metrics of scientific success. The birth of the scientific journals 300 years ago helped to change science from a hodgepodge of different formats and virtually no quality control to a uniform system with peer review for research communication. The first two academic scientific journals made their appearance in 1665: Le Journal des Sçavans and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Their aim was to publish scientific articles to encourage their dissemination and develop the long-term archiving of scientific results. Today, there are over 25 000 journals in science, technology, and medicine, and their number is increasing by 3.5% per year. More scientific and medical papers are being published now than ever before and their numbers are growing exponentially. Sadly, not every scientist has an opportunity to publish his or her own research, leading to gaps and inconsistencies with our access to global knowledge. Developing countries produce a very small fraction of all scientific publications (3-12%), despite the fact that 80% of the world’s population resides in the developing world. Some of the regions that publish the least number of scientific publications include Africa and Central Asia. Our group at the University of Pittsburgh, in collaboration with Nazarbayev University, is developing the first English language peer review journal in Kazakhstan, called Central Asian Journal of Global Health (CAJGH). CAJGH is a fully peer-reviewed online open access journal, edited by the key developers of the Global Health Network Supercourse project (www.pitt.edu/~super1). It provides forum for discussion for all aspects of public health, medicine, and global health in Central Asia and around the world. We are collaborating with the Library of Alexandria in Egypt to establish similar system for African scientists. Our group is advocating for the use of mentored journals to improve publication opportunities for authors in Africa, Central Asia, and all over the world. In collaboration with the Library of Alexandria, we are developing new models for establishing science magazines (both online and paper) to network scientists in the developing world. |
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