Submissions Now Closed
We welcome original submissions from undergraduate students studying at any university. We publish research articles and review papers - interest pieces should be directed towards our blog, “The Abstract.” We always encourage authors to submit articles before the early deadline; although it does not improve your chances of acceptance, it allows for more time to complete all edits.
All articles are peer-reviewed by two or more professors or graduate students from the relevant field; all pieces also undergo rigorous style and copy-editing by our editorial board. Above all, we seek to publish well-written articles demonstrating scientific acumen as well as accessibility to the general scientific readership. We encourage authors to write engaging manuscripts and limit technical jargon.
What is MSURJ?
When the McGill Science Undergraduate Research Journal (MSURJ) launched in Fall 2005 as a student-run initiative to promote and support undergraduate research, it was one of North America’s first peer-reviewed journals devoted to undergraduate work. The journal offers undergraduate students from any university the unique opportunity to publish their findings to the McGill research community.
Writing
The journal distinguishes itself with its rigorous editorial process; we hold our articles to a high standard of scientific acumen and writing quality: each incoming submission is first revised by our student editorial board. Qualifying articles are then submitted to our peer-reviewers, professors, and graduate students who hail from universities all over the world.
Editing
Our diverse editors, united by the mandate to promote undergraduate research, are involved in all journal operations, from soliciting research articles to coordinating the peer-review process and launching the journal. We encourage anyone with strong writing and editing skills and an academic interest in science to apply in the Fall semester of the school year.
Events
In addition to providing students with the opportunity to participate directly in the publication process, MSURJ is always looking for ways to encourage student involvement in all things research. In the upcoming school year, we will be hosting a new array of scientific activities to the McGill community ranging from R-workshops to research seminars.
For more information on our upcoming events, please like us on Facebook
MSURJ Editorial Board Review
All received submissions are first read and evaluated by the MSURJ editorial board, on the basis of the publication criteria. Rejected submissions are returned to the authors, with a point-form evaluation of the manuscript if requested.
Peer-Review
The short-listed articles undergo the peer-review process. Copies of the manuscript are sent to the selected reviewers, who are knowledgeable professors or graduate students in the given field. Upon receipt of the reviews, the comments are combined with those of the editorial board to reach a decision of the article’s suitability for publication.
Conditional Acceptance or Rejection
The conditional publication decision, comments from reviewers, and, if requested, a point-form evaluation of the article justifying the decision are forwarded to the author. In order for publication of the article to proceed, outstanding issues in the manuscript must be amended in accordance with the recommendations and resubmitted.
Publish with MSURJ
Submission opening: November 9, 2020
All submissions must meet these criteria to be considered for publication:
Please refer to the following documents for further information and instructions regarding the article submission process. A template for LaTeX submissions is available for download below. The .zip file contains a class msurj-pan.cls that defines template features, a main.tex file which explains the main features and gives examples, a refs.bib example bibliography, and a folder containing MSURJ graphics. The project should compile without issue if you upload these 4 components to an Overleaf project. If you are using your own LaTeX compiler and have trouble using the template, please contact viet.hoang@mail.mcgill.ca.
Click for Author Instructions.
Click for Consent Form.
Click for LaTeX Template.
To submit, please place your article and pictures in a zip folder and email the zip folder and consent form to applymsurj.sus@mail.mcgill.ca with the express title "LAST NAME, FIRST NAME: Manuscript Submission"
Behind the Scenes
Meet the students who make MSURJ happen.
Jacqueline Yao
Editor-in-Chief
Department: Microbiology and Immunology
Research Interests: Immunology, HIV, vaccine development
General Interests: Travelling, running, baking, watercolour
Michael Agaby
Editor-in-Chief
Department: Math and Computer Science
Research Interests: Machine Learning applications, bioinformatics
General Interests: Hockey, reading
John Ni
Managing Editor: Technology
Department: Biochemistry
Research Interests: Nonribosomal peptide synthetases, neurogenetics
General Interests: Soccer, cooking, web development
Viet Hoang
Managing Editor: Operations
Department: Biology and Computer Science
Research Interests: Multiple sclerosis, diffusion MRI, white matter tractography
General Interests: Paleontology, food, math
Alina He
Managing Editor: Outreach
Department: Neuroscience
Research Interests: Synaptic plasticity, Alzheimer's disease
General Interests: Painting, hiking
Jenny Zheng
Managing Editor: Logistics
Department: Neuroscience
Research Interests: Learning and memory in neural networks
General Interests: Swimming, baking, reading
Sofia Reynoso
Managing Editor: Journalism
Department: Biology
Research Interests: Genetic engineering, bioethics
General Interests: Music history, rock climbing, and travelling
Ryan Huang
Managing Editor: Journalism
Department: Neuroscience
Research Interests: Neuron development, single molecule mRNA visualisation
General Interests: Playing piano, reading
Laura Meng
Senior Editor
Department: Medicine
Research Interests: Emergency medicine, neuroscience, cardiac surgery
General Interests: Playing piano, swimming, interrogation forensics, solving Rubik's cubes, suturing bananas
Katharine Kocik
Senior Editor
Department: Molecular Biology and English Literature
Research Interests: Mental illness, circadian rhythms, sleep
General Interests: Reading, drawing
Janet Zhao
Editor
Department: Neuroscience
Research Interests: Behavioural neuroscience, neural circuits, pain, drug addiction
General Interests: Films, photography, walking around the city
Anna Brandenberger
Editor
Department: Physics and Computer Science
Research Interests: Random graphs and discrete probability, quantum information
General Interests: Piano, reading
Aamir Wahhab
Editor
Department: Biochemistry
Research Interests: Structural biology, protein biochemistry, cancer
General Interests: Reading, playing video games, cooking, exercising
Aelis Spiller
Editor
Department: Earth Systems Science
Research Interests: Carbon sequestration, invasive biology (invasive species)
General Interests: Frisbee, singing, listening to Spanish music
Muhammad Shahzad
Editor
Department: Anatomy and Cell Biology
Research Interests: Endocrinology, surgery, neuroscience, tissue regeneration
General Interests: Cycling, running, reading
David Derish
Editor
Department: Preparatory Medicine
Research Interests: Evolutionary biology, proteomics, immunology
General Interests: Drawing, film and cinema, hiking, rock music
Hugh Deng
Editor
Department: Microbiology and Immunology
Research Interests: Immunology, immunotherapy
General Interests: Cooking, running, swimming
Mina Mahdi
Editor
Department: Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: Behavioural neuroscience, evolutionary biology
General Interests: Reading, films, political theory, piano
MSURJ Alumni
The people who have made MSURJ great. Includes MSURJ board members from 2017 onward.
Howard Li
(2020)
Carrie Gu
(2020)
Yingke Liang
(2020)
Mathilde Papillon
(2020)
Janet Wilson
(2020)
Shannon Egan
(2020)
Janet Tang
(2020)
Richard Yang
(2020)
Elias Andraos
(2020)
Sebastian Andric
(2019)
Abtin Ameri
(2018)
Deifilia To
(2018)
Graydon Tope
(2018)
Rachel Greben
(2017)
Nick Pant
(2017)
Cheng Lin
(2017)
Contact Us
McGill Science Undergraduate Research Journal
805 Sherbrooke St. West Room 1B21
Montréal, QC H3A 2K6
Email: msurj.sus@mail.mcgill.ca
P. 514.398.6979 | F. 514.398.6766 (Science Undergraduate Society)
© McGill Science Undergraduate Research Journal 2021