PRESENTATION ON IJMS
My
name is Makhyan Jibril Al Farabi, B.Med , and as Ambassador of IJMS,
I am here to present the International Journal for
Medical Students, IJMS
IJMS HISTORY
When people approach me to ask
about the journal, their first question is generally, “Where did this all come
from?”
The initial idea for the Journal
was from Américo Peña Oscuvilca, the
current editor in chief, who when he was a medical student and president of the
scientific society of medical students of Peru, SOCIMEP, he participated in the
XXVII (27th) International Scientific Congress, held on an annual
basis by the Latin-American Federation of Medical Students Associations,
FELSOCEM where he met the past Scientific editor, Christian Lopez, who was attending
in representation of the Colombian national scientific association ASCEMCOL, with
whom he shared his idea:
To create a scientific journal that
would be completely planned and executed by medical students from all over the
world. The congress ended the 12th of September 2009, and on the 20th
the commitment to start it was sealed via email.
At that moment, Juliana Bonilla, our Associate Editor
was a research trainee at Mayo Clinic, when on the 23rd of September,
Christian, her friend, contacted her and told her about the idea. She thought
it was simply spectacular! Because she had never heard of anything like it, and
she felt like it was going to be one of those initiatives that was going to
have a great impact and make a real contribution to medical sciences and
medical education. She immediately answered yes, and since then they started
creating IJMS.
Each one of them contacted a
mentor, Americo brought Dr. Alfonso Rodriguez from the Central University of
Venezuela, Christian Dr. Jorge Gomez, from Quindio University and Juliana
contacted Dr. Martin Fernandez from Mayo Clinic.
On 2012, the IJMS Executive Committee made
public among their current Editorial Board the vacancy for a new Scientific
Editor, for which Ahmad Adi, who was
part of it, applied and was admitted. Since that moment, He, Juliana and
Americo became a new team and are making IJMS grow more and more. And this is
how it all started, about three years ago, and for me it a great honor to share
with you the product of their efforts.
WHY BELIEVE IN
IJMS?
With
the publication from the Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group in 1992 that a
new paradigm for medical practice was born: evidence-based medicine, which has
had an impact in every aspect of clinical practice and is penetrating medical
education, becoming an ever increasing part of the skills that are needed to
practice medicine.
But, what does this mean? That the
language in which medicine is written today is no longer prose, but scientific
in nature. Under this paradigm, the decisions on diagnosis and treatment are no
longer based only on clinical expertise, but the evidence to support it.
Even so, many medical students and
physicians still have trouble with basic principles of research methodology and
don’t understand fully what trials mean or their publication process.
Scientific journals fulfill a vital
part in the generation of knowledge; it is the intermediate step between
discoveries made in the laboratory or practice and their inclusion in books.
Thus, the first step in making a contribution to medical sciences is through
the publication in scientific journals.
And so it has become more important
for students to be exposed to research at earlier stages of medical formation. This
has been evidenced by the inclusion of research related classes in medical
curriculums, and is further supported by the ACGME (Association of American
Medical Colleges) in 2006,[i] when they called for all medical
schools to incorporate mandatory education on clinical and translational research.
Medical student journals do exist,
but they often represent specific groups or local associations.
And thus, the International Journal
for Medical Students was born, to give a voice to the hundreds, thousands, or
millions of medical students worldwide, who actively participate in research
and contribute on a day to day basis to the progress of medicine, by creating a
world renowned platform of the highest scientific quality, for the publication
of their work. I present to you IJMS, sure that this will be one of those
defining moments for the history of student publications.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
Américo
Peña-Oscuvilca, MD
Perú
Graduated with honors from the Universidad
Nacional José Faustino Sánchez Carrión, Perú.
Member of IFMSA-Peru, participated in FELSOCEM, ex-president SOCIMEP (Sociedad Cientifica de Estudiantes de Medicina del Peru 2009).
Member of IFMSA-Peru, participated in FELSOCEM, ex-president SOCIMEP (Sociedad Cientifica de Estudiantes de Medicina del Peru 2009).
Nominated to the Top Ten of best
medical student researchers for 3 consecutive years.
First place in the National
Scientific Congress of Medical Students in Peru in Clinical and surgical
sciences 2008 and public health 2009.
Author of 19 publications in
Peruvian and Latin-American journals.
Juliana Bonilla Vélez
Colombia
Graduated with honors from the
Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia, and recently admitted with twelve more
students from Latin America in Harvard Medical School for making part of the
selected group of medical students who will participate in the educational
program on Clinical Research Methodology. During her studies in Universidad del
Valle, she was awarded scholarships for four semesters for ranking top 5 in her
class. Ex president of the Scientific Association of Medical Students from the
Universidad del Valle, ex treasurer and vice-president for two periods for the Association
of Scientific Societies of Medical Students in Colombia ASCEMCOL, delegate for
Colombia to FELSOCEM and IFMSA on 3 occasions.
First place in the national contest
of original research in the XIX Colombian Student Congress of Medical
Investigation, and received honorable mention for high quality in the XXI CECIM
Participated twice as research
trainee in the “Epigenetics and Chromatin Dynamics” in the división of
gastroenterology and hepatology of Mayo Clinic.
Author of 6 publications, one
indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed.
Ahmad H. Adi
Saudi Arabia
Final year medical student at Alfaisal
University. He has been awarded a Merit-Based Full Scholarship from
2008 to present and has been part of the Dean’s list from 2009 to present too.
He has been a Clinical observership
in Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Harvard Medical School and a research
exchange student at the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the Arthur
C. Guyton Research Center in the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He developed
as a trainee for the Stem Cell Therapy Research Program in King Faisal
Specialist Hospital and Research Center.
Experience on working for the
IFMSA: current Director of the Human Resources Support Division, National
Officer for Global Opportunities (NOGO) and member of the National Board of
IFMSA-Saudi Arabia. In addition, he has also attended different general
assemblies and its training sessions (which lead him to become a certified
trainer. He has also presented projects for his National Medical Organization. Author
of 3 publications.
MENTORS:
Martín E. Fernández-Zapico, MD.
Assistant Professor, Department of
Medicine, Mayo Clinic
Assistant Professor, Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic
Senior Associate Consultant,
Division of Oncology Research, Department of Medical
Oncology and Division of
Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine,
Mayo Clinic
Faculty (Full Privileges), Mayo
Graduate School, Mayo Clinic
Graduated from the Universidad de Córdoba
en Argentina, completed his post doctoral studies at Mayo Clinic in
Biochemistry and celular Biology.
Member of 10 national and
international associations including the American Association for Cancer
Research, American Gastroenterology Association, American Pancreatic
Association, among others.
Is part of the editorial board of
the Journal of Gastrointestinal Cancer, World journal of gastroenterology, Pancreatology
and the Journal of Gastrointestinal Cancer, y peer-reviewer in 32 scientific
journals.
Author of 45 publications on PubMed.
Dr.
Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales, MD, MSc, DTM&H, FRSTMH, FFTM, PhD(c).
Professor in
Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Razetti School of Medicine
of the Universidad
Central de Venezuela. Ad Honorem researcher in tropical diseases in the
Instituto Jose Witremundo Torrealba in the Universidad de los Andes, Venezuela,
and director of the population studies unit of the Fundación Centro de Estudios
sobre Crecimiento y Desarrollo de la población venezolana FUNDACREDESA, Venezuela.
Completed medical school in the
Universidad Central de Venezuela, and post doctorate in parasitology at this
same institution.
Editor, Journal of Infection in
Developing Countries (JIDC).
Author of 75 articles on PubMed.
Dr. Jorge Gomez Marin, MD, MSc, PhD, PostPhD.
Director of
the Centre of Biomedical Investigation Manuel Elkin Patarroyo and research
laboratory GEPAMOL ranked A1 category in Colombia.
Graduated from
medical school at the Universidad del Quindío, with masters degree from the Prince
Leopold institute of tropical diseases, Belgium and doctorate and post
doctorate studies at the University of Reims, France.
Editor or the
Colombian Journal on infectology INFECTIO, recognized worldwide for his studies
in Toxoplasma gondii and its clinical manifestations.
Author of 46 publications on PubMed.
We courteously invite you to
participate in the International Journal for Medical Students. There are many
ways to become involved or support our journal, such as Ambassador of the IJMS
( Medical students interested in research, public relations and
communications who help make IJMS known worldwide), Partner ( National or
international medical associations or congresses who offer IJMS their
institutional support) or Sponsor ( Institutions
who offer finantial or other forms of support)
