In 2025, 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 (2025)

Mohamed Shanshal, Mayo Clinic, USA

Yonatan Dollin, University of California San Diego, USA

Ariel A. Arteta, University of Antioquia, Colombia

Natacha Wathieu, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, USA

Giye Choe, Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, USA

Yosuke Hamada, Toranomon Hospital, Japan

Patricia Sikorski, The George Washington University, USA

Outstanding Author

Mohamed Shanshal

Dr. Mohamed Shanshal is a medical oncologist and Assistant Professor at Mayo Clinic, specializing in thoracic malignancies and early-phase cancer drug development. His research is dedicated to developing innovative cancer therapeutics, particularly in nano-oncology and rare tumors. His approach is driven by clinical observations, where patient experiences inspire hypotheses investigated in the lab to address unmet clinical needs. His ultimate goal is to translate these laboratory discoveries into effective treatments for patients with hard-to-treat cancers.

Dr. Shanshal thinks a good academic paper provides novel insights, is clearly written, and is supported by robust data. It should address an important question in the field and contribute to advancing scientific understanding while maintaining scientific rigor and transparency.

Dr. Shanshal believes that maintaining a neutral tone, presenting data objectively, and relying on evidence-based conclusions are good ways to avoid biases in writing. Peer review, collaboration with colleagues from different backgrounds, and being open to feedback are also essential to minimizing bias in research and writing.

(by Sasa Zhu, Brad Li)

Yonatan Dollin

Dr. Captain Yonatan Dollin is an officer in the United States Air Force as well as a physician internist who is currently completing his fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Wright State University in Ohio and his medical degree from Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York. He has 8 publications with 56 citations and an H-Index of 3. He served as the principal investigator for a randomized controlled trial (NCT05355974). Recently, his research has been with the Interventional Pulmonary Department at UCSD where he has focused on Interstitial Lung Disease and developing an artificial intelligence-driven tool to help screen large populations for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. In addition, he is performing research incorporating advanced bronchoscopy into diagnosing and treating multiple pulmonary and mediastinal cancers as well as other advanced pulmonary diseases.

Dr. Dollin asserts that effective academic writing encompasses several critical elements that significantly enhance its quality: Clear organizational strategy and logical progression of thought throughout the manuscript are vital. Excellent, recent references are imperative. Moreover, ensuring data referenced support all statements. Consistent formatting contributes to clarity and aids the reader in navigating the document. Adhering to rigorous standards of scientific validity and statistical analysis is also important. Finally, authors should take peer-review comments seriously and address missing elements of the manuscript during the review process.

To Dr. Dollin, his path to becoming a physician started with research and that inspired him to push the boundaries of medical and scientific knowledge. He has seen that the ability to communicate his research through academic writing can exponentially increase his impact on the medical field beyond even his day-to-day practice. This inspires him to continue giving 100% effort in his medical practice and engages him in the lifelong learning necessary to give excellent patient care and succeed as a physician. 

“Both the academic and medical worlds suffer from rumor, misinformation, and low-quality research studies making false claims all to the suffering and detriment of real-life patients. Your commitment to high-quality research, scientific and statistical integrity, and pursuit of truth not only combats this scourge but makes a profound impact on the quality of medical care given in the world. Our patients depend on researchers to innovate, make advances, and create data that lead to high-quality guidelines and tangible improvements in patient care. Never underestimate your importance,” says Dr. Dollin.

(by Sasa Zhu, Brad Li)

Ariel A. Arteta

Dr. Ariel Arteta is an Associate Professor of the Department of Pathology at the University of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia, being a graduate of the pathology postgraduate course at the same institution. Over the last 10 years, he has served as a Professor of postgraduate pathology and gastroenterology fellow at the Hospital San Vicente Fundación, with special interest in soft tissue and mediastinal tumors. Hospital San Vicente Fundación is a hospital that treats both children and adults, which facilitates to conduct comparative research in these two populations.

Beyond the necessary knowledge of the topic of study, the skills of an author, in Dr. Arteta’s view, lie in identifying the existing knowledge gaps in relation to the problem statement and research objectives, in order to quickly translate the research results to the local clinical setting as a way to positively impact the health of the population.

Dr. Arteta admits that it is complex to conduct research free of any types of bias. To try to avoid biases, a number of epidemiological tools have been described, mainly in the data collection and analysis phases. But in addition to trying to avoid biases, he believes that it is equally important to state that the research has some types of bias if it is considered relevant to the applicability of the results and that these biases are known to the readers.

“Pathological anatomy is a science of which its contributions have produced great advances in the medical sciences in general. At present, much of the research efforts have turned to molecular biology producing unimaginable amounts of information, much of it without real applicability to date. There are some areas of medical knowledge where traditional methodologies such as the good use of the microscope and simple complementary tests can still contribute to improve clinical knowledge of diseases, knowledge that has been somewhat relegated in the molecular era,” says Dr. Arteta.

(by Brad Li, Masaki Lo)

Natacha Wathieu

Dr. Natacha Wathieu is currently a resident physician at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University General Surgery Training Program, where she is in her last year of training. In the summer of 2026, she will be starting her fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Johns Hopkins. She hopes to become an academic general thoracic surgeon with a research focus in lung cancer in non-smoking females. She has also recently become a medical illustrator and hopes to elaborate on this passion as she progresses through her career as a thoracic surgeon.

The key skill sets of an author, according to Dr. Wathieu, include a strong curiosity to investigate the breadth of knowledge and literature within a field, integrity to provide readers with honest and rigorous scientific inquiry, and a collaborative mindset.

In Dr. Wathieu’s view, biases in scientific inquiry and writing can be avoided by maintaining a breadth of curiosity within the topic and by critically appraising one’s own writing through different perspectives. However, some biases in research are inevitable based on the type of study, and acknowledging this fact within the limitations of a manuscript is important.

“I am grateful to have amazing mentors who keep me motivated to pursue academic writing. Another source of motivation is natural curiosity and joy to share my passion for thoracic oncology with others,” says Dr. Wathieu.

(by Brad Li, Masaki Lo)

Giye Choe

Giye Choe, MD, FACS, is a thoracic surgeon practicing at Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, in Oakland, CA, where she is the Assistant Chief of the Thoracic Surgery Division. She completed her medical school education at Korea University’s College of Medicine (Seoul, South Korea), and did her training at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA), Oregon Health Sciences University (Portland, OR) and finally at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY). Her clinical work focuses on thoracic malignancies, and she has an academic interest in implementation science, cancer survivorship, and pulmonary and thymic malignancies. Dr. Choe enjoys creating systematic clinical tools that facilitate the work that patients and providers must do in real world settings and implementing them – a recent example is the development and implementation of a tool that helps surveillance in patients with stage I lung cancer within a population of roughly 4.6 million in Northern California.

Mediastinum: What role does academic writing play in science?

Dr. Choe: Academic writing and science are like a married couple – one cannot be whole without the other. Scientific inquiry occurring in a void inevitably becomes stunted, and the accurate, precise and thoughtful communication of work across different labs and disparate fields brings individual inquiry to take part in a broader chorus, allowing our understanding of the world to advance in a more efficient manner than any single scientist or lab could achieve. It allows us to transcend our limitations of time and space, as the works of former scientists are available to modern day scientists to consult and consider. Modern scientific achievements are built on a foundation of knowledge accumulated through individual academic papers, but they also rely on a collaborative community enabled by clear communication of findings and opportunities for diverse minds to connect and collaborate. In that way, academic writing goes beyond being merely the mouthpiece of scientists, but also a source of inspiration and advice that informs and projects new breakthroughs.  

Mediastinum: How to ensure one’s writing is critical?

Dr. Choe: Ensuring one’s writing being critical starts from thorough and dedicated knowledge of the field that one is writing from. From here, a careful examination of gaps in knowledge that warrants inquiry may arise, leading to a question that can be answered. Unfortunately, I must acknowledge that in some instances there are competing incentives to publish, but I think that most scientists are motivated by genuine curiosity and passion to add to our understanding of the universe. This underlying background work that provides a North Star to guide the endeavor is what makes the work gain meaning and crucial importance. Thoughtful selection of study design, transparency in the process and clear, concise description of any data, methods and conclusions will then add the qualities that elevate the writing into a notable and important paper that contributes to science. Sometimes, the significance of a paper may not be immediately apparent, but I believe that inquiry coming from sincere curiosity and motivation, combined with commitment to quality in the work will eventually yield meaningful advancement and contribution.

Mediastinum: Why is it important for a research to apply for institutional review board (IRB) approval?

Dr. Choe: We are aware of many terrible examples of research conducted on human subjects without respect for them as ‘ends in themselves’ but rather means to an end. A small fraction of notable examples would include the Nazi war crimes that led to the drafting of the Nuremberg Code, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the Willowbrook Study of hepatitis transmission and the work of Maria Nowak-Vogl on children in Innsbruck, Austria. Research on human subjects inevitably and invariably ends up ‘using’ people for a means to an end, however noble, and it is critical to have a system that ensures the safety of the human subjects involved and protects their rights and welfare. It is imperative that it involves a third-party board that has expertise and is without conflict of interest to serve this role, so that it can serve as a neutral party that ensures the three principles laid out in the Belmont Report of 1974 – respect for persons, beneficence and justice – are met. One may argue that individual researchers are generally motivated by a desire to benefit the human subjects involved in a study, but given the inherent conflict of interest present, they are not placed in a position to optimally identify and avoid risks to patients and their rights. Omission of this process, while it may allow for streamlined study conduct, can lead to grievous harm to people as demonstrated in historic examples.

(by Brad Li, Masaki Lo)

Yosuke Hamada

Dr. Yosuke Hamada is a board-certified thoracic surgeon and a staff member at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Respiratory Center, Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo, where he specializes in the management of thoracic malignancies. With advances in induction therapy, his clinical focus is on performing minimally invasive procedures that avoid complications and preserve organ function as much as possible, even in advanced lung cancer and malignant mediastinal tumors. He received his early science education in both Japan and the United Kingdom, earning a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from Imperial College London. He then transferred to Nagoya University School of Medicine, where he continued basic research while completing his M.D. After residency and fellowship training at Toranomon Hospital, he is now pursuing a career as an academic surgeon, committed to advancing surgery, clinical practice, research, and education.

Mediastinum: What are the most commonly encountered difficulties in academic writing?

Dr. Hamada: As a surgeon primarily engaged in daily operations, I find it challenging to identify research themes that move beyond individual cases and bring real value to the wider community. This requires constantly reflecting on how clinical practice can be translated into meaningful academic work. Another difficulty lies in the writing itself – maintaining scientific rigor while ensuring clarity for a broad audience. Achieving this balance is never easy, yet it is precisely what makes academic writing both demanding and rewarding.

Mediastinum: The burden of being a scientist/doctor is heavy. How do you allocate time to write papers?

Dr. Hamada: I try to view writing as a natural extension of my clinical and research duties rather than an additional burden. To secure time, I often wake up early and devote those quiet morning hours to writing, when my mind feels most focused. Even short, consistent sessions allow steady progress. In this way, writing becomes integrated into my daily rhythm instead of something postponed for a “better” time, which only occasionally comes.

Mediastinum: What is fascinating about academic writing?

Dr. Hamada: What fascinates me most is how individual experiences can be transformed into shared knowledge that may advance the field. Writing compels me to reflect more deeply on my practice and often reveals insights that I might otherwise overlook. Equally meaningful is seeing my work become part of a broader academic dialogue. Above all, completing a manuscript brings a distinct sense of fulfilment – one that is both humbling and deeply rewarding, unlike any other aspect of professional life.

(by Brad Li, Masaki Lo)

Patricia M. Sikorski

Dr. Patricia Sikorski is a Research Assistant Professor at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from Georgetown University in 2019 and completed postdoctoral training in myasthenia gravis under Drs. Linda Kusner and Henry Kaminski. Her research focuses on the role of atypical B cells in myasthenia gravis and the influence of sex differences in early-onset disease, particularly in the context of thymic hyperplasia.

Dr. Sikorski believes that a strong academic paper, at its core, asks a clear and meaningful research question. It connects the work to what is already known, presents the methods and findings in a transparent way, and ends by showing how the results add something new to the field. To her, when preparing a paper, it is important for the authors to keep the audience in mind. That means knowing the field well enough to put the work in context, writing clearly so the message is not lost, and being transparent about both the strengths and the limitations of the study.

“Mediastinum offers an excellent opportunity to provide an updated overview of thymic hyperplasia in myasthenia gravis to a readership that includes both clinicians and researchers. The journal’s specialized focus and international readership make it an ideal venue to highlight recent progress and discuss its implications for the field,” says Dr. Sikorski.

(by Brad Li, Masaki Lo)