In 2024, many MED authors make outstanding contributions to our journal. Their articles published with us have received very well feedback in the field and stimulate a lot of discussions and new insights among the peers.

Hereby, we would like to highlight some of our outstanding authors who have been making immense efforts in their research fields, with a brief interview of their unique perspective and insightful view as authors.

Outstanding Authors (2024)

John Young, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, USA

Outstanding Author

John Young

Dr. John Young is a thoracic and lung transplant surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and VA Boston. He is the founding surgical director of the VA Boston Lung Transplant program. He completed his general surgery residency at Brown University, his cardiothoracic fellowship at Northwell Health, and his minimally invasive thoracic surgery fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. His research interests include immunology, lung transplantation, and thoracic oncology. His clinical areas of interest include end-stage lung disease, lung transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, esophageal, lung, and mediastinal pathology, and the utilization of the robotic surgical platform. He is passionate about serving his patients as a healthcare provider and is a strong education advocate in his role as a member of the faculty at Harvard Medical School, where he has mentored both undergraduate students and surgical trainees.

The way Dr. Young sees it, a good academic clinical paper starts with asking an important clinical question, one where the answer will improve how we manage and care for patients. The next essential element is the research design – it needs to be well thought out and practical in execution, and frequently more elegant designs are simpler. With the analysis of the data, choosing the correct statistical tools is critical. Lastly, it is important to draw reasonable conclusions that are firmly grounded in the analysis of the data and tie them back to improve patient care.

In constructing a paper, Dr. Young thinks it is important for authors to take a step back from the paper and remember that the readers may not be as immersed in their specific niche of research. Some things that may be obvious to the authors may not be to the readers and may need to be explained in a bit more detail. Similarly, logical leaps in conclusions may not be readily apparent to readers and may need to be spelled out.

Seeing the prevalent practice of data sharing in recent years, Dr. Young believes that such practice is a positive thing as a general principle. It not only allows for decreased costs and increased transparency but also validation of results and further advances in our knowledge with reuse of research data.

(by Brad Li, Alisa Lu)