Preprints and Peer Review in a Pandemic
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The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the research publishing landscape as scientists investigate and try to understand the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the complex disease it causes. This has led to unprecedented volume and speed in scientific publishing.
Academic journal submissions have increased manyfold, accelerating peer review and stretching journals’ editorial and production capacity. There's also been an explosion in preprints, manuscripts researchers post to online servers such as medRxiv and bioRxiv before submitting to journals for formal peer review. As of August 31, 2020, the two preprint servers had together published over 8,000 preprints on COVID-19-related research.
And, for the first time, journalists are reporting on preprints, putting them center stage before they’ve undergone traditional peer review. The upshot is the self-correcting preprint process that used to take place among researchers off the media grid is now unfolding on social media and in news coverage before peer review. With this speed comes errors. Notably, there have been several high-profile retractions involving coronavirus- and COVID-19-related studies in both preprint servers and peer-reviewed journals.
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has invited leading experts—a journal editor, the co-founder of a preprint server, and a science journalist—to discuss the risks and rewards of scientific publishing in this urgent and fast-paced environment. Moderated by Bloomberg School Vice Dean for Research Gregory D. Kirk, MD, PhD '03, MPH '95, with concluding comments from Bloomberg School Dean Ellen J. MacKenzie, PhD '79, ScM '75, panelists will also address the importance of preserving public trust in science despite inconsistencies, retractions, and corrections, and how this new research-publishing dynamic might transform scientific publishing forever.
Speakers:
- Howard Bauchner, MD
Editor-in-Chief, JAMA and the JAMA Network - Emily S. Gurley, PhD '12, MPH
Co-Founder, Novel Coronavirus Research Compendium (NCRC)
Associate Scientist, Department of Epidemiology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health - Harlan Krumholz, MD, SM
Founder, medRxiv
Harold H. Hines Jr. Professor of Medicine in Cardiology, Yale School of Medicine
Director, Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation
Yale-New Haven Hospital - Carl Zimmer
Columnist for The New York Times, currently working on the COVID-19 team
Author of thirteen books, lecturer on topics including evolution, biotechnology, and science denialism
Adjunct Professor in Science Writing, Yale University - Gregory D. Kirk, MD, PhD '03, MPH '95
Vice Dean for Research
Professor, Department of Epidemiology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health - Ellen J. MacKenzie, PhD '79, ScM '75
Dean
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Johns Hopkins University’s clinicians and researchers specializing in global public health, infectious disease, and emergency preparedness have been at the forefront of the international response to the coronavirus outbreak by advancing the understanding of the virus, informing the public, and briefing policymakers to guide the response, improve care, and save lives. Stay up to date on the latest expert insights from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and get notified about future webcasts by subscribing to our Expert Insights Newsletter, delivered Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
For more information, please contact jhsph_communications@jhu.edu.
Previous COVID-19 Events & Webcasts
- Special Webcast: We Stand with Public Health
February 24, 2021 - Expert Media Briefing | SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern and What They Mean for the COVID-19 Pandemic
February 18, 2021 - Expert Media Briefing | COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Amidst an Overburdened Public Health System and a Public Seeking Reassurance
January 28, 2021 - Alumni Spotlight Series: Rethinking the U.S COVID-19 Response
January 14, 2021 - Expert Media Briefing | COVID-19 Vaccines: Development, Allocation and Acceptance
December 3, 2020 - The Path to Reversing Trends
November 19, 2020 - Expert Media Briefing | Holiday Travel and Celebration During the Pandemic
November 12, 2020 - Preserving the Scientific Integrity of Getting to COVID-19 Vaccines: From Clinical Trials to Public Allocation
October 6, 2020 - Expert Media Briefing | ‘Twindemic’ - Flu Season and COVID-19
September 22, 2020 - Preprints and Peer Review in a Pandemic
September 11, 2020 - Expert Media Briefing | Pandemic’s Impact on Mental Health
August 27, 2020 - Back To School 2020
August 20, 2020 - Expert Media Briefing | COVID-19 Vaccine Trials
July 29, 2020 - Expert Media Briefing | Reopening K-12 Schools
July 16, 2020 - Expert Media Briefing | States and Cities Reopening in the Coming Months
June 11, 2020 - How to Get Reopening Right
May 21, 2020 - Expert Media Briefing | Online Contact Tracing Course
May 11, 2020 - Expert Media Briefing | Convalescent Plasma
May 7, 2020 - Expert Media Briefing | Contact Tracing and Reopening
April 30, 2020 - Inside Taiwan’s Response to COVID-19
April 24, 2020 - Expert Media Briefing | Tracking & Mitigating COVID-19
April 8, 2020 - Webcast With Johns Hopkins Experts
March 17, 2020 - Webcast With Johns Hopkins Experts
March 2, 2020 - Expert Insights for the Hopkins Community
February 27, 2020 - JHED Authentication Required - Expert Insights for the Hopkins Community
February 11, 2020 - JHED Authentication Required - Novel Coronavirus Panel at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
February 5, 2020