• MSURJ Volume XVII

      Authors, congratulations on your fantastic articles! Thank you for your time, effort, and scientific rigour.

       

      This published version of your articles is not final, and will be improved upon in the coming weeks! Currently, the editorial board at MSURJ anticipates all articles to be finalised within 2 weeks' time. Thank you for your understanding!

    • 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

    • Peer-Review Process

      The steps to publishing with MSURJ.

      1

      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.

       

      2

      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.

       

      3

      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.

    • Our Events

      Some of the things we did, and some of the things we'll do!

      CV Editing Event

      On November 11th and November 12th of 2021, MSURJ and SRI hosted our popular annual CV editing event. Our combined team of 30+ execs helped more than 30 students across the McGill community with their CVs one-on-one! Using standardized guidelines, our team ensured that students had CVs that distinguished them from other applicants in research and beyond.

      Laboratory Tours

      Thank you to all who attended!

      MSURJ Volume XVII Launch

      April 8th, 2022, 5PM

    • Thank you for coming to our lab tours!

       

      Dr. Alanna Watt's Lab

      The Watt Lab is a neurobiology lab located in the Bellini Life Sciences Complex. The Watt lab studies the cerebellum, a brain region responsible for coordinating movement. Diseases of the cerebellum impair movement and can greatly impact the lives of their patients. Therefore, the Watt Lab aims to understand the cellular mechanisms of cerebellar diseases with the hope of finding potential treatments. In this tour, you will gain an undergraduate perspective on research in the Watt Lab and some of the experiments that undergraduates typically perform, specifically tissue preparation and immunohistochemistry. There will also be a Q&A where you will have the opportunity to ask questions about the Watt Lab and undergraduate research at McGill! Picture from https://wattlabmcgill.ca/

      Dr. David Green's Lab

      Members of the Green Lab at the Redpath Museum largely study the impact of environmental change on frogs and toads. Their study site comprises the sandy beaches of Long Point, Ontario, on the northern shore of Lake Erie, where all sorts of amphibians, reptiles and other critters roam! PhD candidate Nat will share pictures from last year’s field season, talk about the lab’s current research projects, and discuss fieldwork volunteer opportunities for next May and June! Picture from http://redpath-staff.mcgill.ca/green/

      Dr. Ian Gold's Lab

      Ian Gold's Neurophilosophy Lab is a McGill based workgroup that provides students and researchers a platform for interdisciplinary discussions, collaboration and exchanges. We carry on experimental and theoretical research at the intersections of cognitive/social neuroscience, philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychiatry and neuroscience. During this tour, postdoc researchers Dr. Elizaveta Solomonova and Dr. Fernanda Pérez Gay will speak about our current projects and show students the physical lab at the Duff building, where experiments on the neural mechanisms of social cognition are carried on using the Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) technology.

      Picture courtesy of https://www.mcgill.ca/philosophy/ian-jeffrey-gold

      Dr. Maria Vera Ugalde's Lab

      The Vera Ugalde lab specialises in single molecule imaging techniques in fixed and live cells to investigate the eukaryotic responses to stress. In particular, they study the control of heat shock proteins' (HSPs) and other chaperones' expression with a focus on mRNA.

       

      Picture courtesy of http://www.veraugaldelab.net

    • Write for the Abstract

      The Abstract is MSURJ’s popular science blog where we publish informal articles on anything science related, including personal McGill science experiences. Those interested in sharing their passion for science are encouraged to submit!

       

      Please submit your articles to msurj.media@gmail.com.

    • Behind the Scenes

      Meet the students who make MSURJ happen.

      Jenny Zheng

      Editor-in-Chief

      Department: Neuroscience

      Research Interests: Learning and memory in neural networks

      General Interests: Swimming, baking, reading

      John Ni

      Editor-in-Chief

      Department: Biochemistry

      Research Interests: Nonribosomal peptide synthetases, neurogenetics

      General Interests: Soccer, cooking, web development

      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

      Muhammad Shahzad

      Managing Editor: Logistics

      Department: Microbiology and Immunology

      Research Interests: Endocrinology, surgery, neuroscience, tissue regeneration

      General Interests: Cycling, running, reading

      David Derish

      Managing Editor: Technology

      Department: Medicine

      Research Interests: Cardiac regeneration, evolutionary biology, emergency medicine

      General Interests: Movies, hiking, rock music

      Hugh Deng

      Managing Editor: Outreach

      Department: Microbiology and Immunology

      Research Interests: Immunology, immunotherapy

      General Interests: Cooking, running, swimming

      Aelis Spiller

      Senior Editor

      Department: Earth Systems Science

      Research Interests: Carbon sequestration, invasive biology (invasive species)

      General Interests: Frisbee, singing, listening to Spanish music

      Aamir Wahhab

      Senior Editor

      Department: Biochemistry

      Research Interests: Structural biology, protein biochemistry, cancer

      General Interests: Reading, playing video games, cooking, exercising

      Laura Meng

      Senior Editor

      Department: Medicine

      Research Interests: Clinical medicine of all specialties!

      General Interests: Playing piano, swimming, art, interrogation forensics, café hopping

      Mina Mahdi

      Senior Editor

      Department: Biomedical Sciences

      Research Interests: Behavioural neuroscience, evolutionary biology

      General Interests: Reading, films, political theory, piano

      Anthony Dumais

      Editor

      Department: Cognitive Science

      Research Interests: Cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligence

      General Interests: Reading, music, photography

      Shafaq Nami

      Editor

      Department: Bioengineering

      Research Interests: Cell and tissue engineering, drug delivery, vaccines

      General Interests: Reading, Exploring, Photography, Cats

      Autumn Pereira

      Editor

      Department: Biology and Mathematics

      Research Interests: Evolutionary ecology, biogeochemistry, herpetology

      General Interests: Backcountry camping, baking

      Nathan Pilkey

      Editor

      Department: Microbiology and Immunology

      Research Interests: vascular calcification in CKD, phosphate homeostasis

      General Interests: outdoors, running, camping, cooking

      Laura Reumont

      Editor

      Department: Physics

      Research Interests: Planets, astronomy, climate change

      General Interests: Reading, octopuses

      Tiffany Spector

      Editor

      Department: Biomedical and Life Sciences

      Research Interests: Cognitive development, Multiple Sclerosis treatment

      General Interests: Movies, skiing

      Ines Durant

      Department: Biology

      Research Interests: Trauma surgery, genetic regulation, sleep

      General Interests: Baking, reading, running

    • MSURJ Alumni

      The people who have made MSURJ great. Includes MSURJ board members from 2018 onward.

      Jacqueline Yao

      (2021)

      Michael Agaby
      (2021)

      Viet Hoang

      (2021)

      Alina He

      (2021)

      Katharine Kocik
      (2021)

      Janet Zhao

      (2021)

      Anna Brandenberger

      (2021)

      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)

    • Editor Applications Now Closed!

      Thank you to all who applied and we will get back to you shortly!

      Please include a completed pdf of the below form and a copy of your CV into a zip folder titled "(Last name)_(First name)_MSURJ", and email it to applymsurj.sus@mail.mcgill.ca

    • Submissions Now Closed!

      Thank you to all who submitted their work! 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.

       

      Open for Submissions: November 15, 2021

      Early deadline: December 16, 2021

      Extended deadline: January 24, 2022

       

      Please see further instructions in the Publish section below.

    • Publish with MSURJ

      Submission opening: November 15, 2021

      Early deadline: December 16, 2021

      Final deadline: January 17, 2022

      Extended final deadline: January 24, 2022

       

      January 16 2022: Citation instructions have recently changed. If authors have already submitted their manuscript, they do not have to submit a new manuscript adhering to the changes. If authors have not yet submitted their manuscript, please update their citation style to Nature, according to the citation guidelines in the Author Instructions document below.

       

      Please read the following documents:

       

      Click for Author Instructions.

      Click for Consent Form.

      Click for LaTeX Template.

       

      All submissions must meet these criteria to be considered for publication:

       

      1. The article, in the following format:

       

      All papers should be double-spaced throughout. Limit length to ~4000 words.  We will tolerate up to 4500 words, although this is not ideal. These numbers exclude references. Article must be in .doc, .docx, or .tex format. Font: Times New Roman, 12-point font. Format citations and references in Nature style only (see nature.com/nature/for-authors/formatting-guide).

       

      2. Signed Consent Form 

       

      We cannot accept your article, under any circumstance, without it. 

       

      3. Separate file containing figures, appropriately labelled.

       

      • Individual figures, appropriately labelled. Minimum image resolution is 300 DPI. .tiff, .png, or .jpg format.
      • Document with appropriately labelled figure and table captions. Each caption is to begin with the text “Fig. #” or “Table #” in boldface. If you wish to include any previously published table or figure, you must include a written permission from the main author.

       

      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 david.derish@mail.mcgill.ca.

       

      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"

    • 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)

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