• MSURJ Volume XVI

      Click the cover to download a copy

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

       

      Submission opening: November 9, 2020
      Early deadline: December 7, 2020
      Final deadline (extended): January 22, 2020
       
      Please see further instructions in the Publish section below.

    • Publish with MSURJ

      Submission opening: November 9, 2020

      Early deadline: December 7, 2020
      Final deadline (extended): January 22, 2020

       

      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 Vancouver style only.
      2. Signed Consent Form (we consider the submission an automatic rejection 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 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)

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