In 2024, many JOMA 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)
Takehiko Iijima, Showa University School of Dentistry, Japan
Marina Carrasco-Llatas, Dr. Peset University Hospital, Spain
Carlos J. Roldan, The University of Texas, USA
Emily Kahnert, University of Minnesota, USA
Outstanding Author
Takehiko Iijima
Prof. Takehiko Iijima currently serves at the Division of Anesthesiology, Department of Perioperative Medicine, Showa University School of Dentistry. His academic career was initiated by the research field of brain ischemia in the 1990s. He was involved in the research group for brain resuscitation at the Max Planck Institute for neurological research. After returning to Japan, he became interested in intra-operative fluid therapy since the prevalent fluid planning for surgery was old-fashioned and not updated. He met Dr. Takuo Aoyagi, who invented pulse oximetry. Together, they developed a bedside monitoring device to measure circulating blood volume. Since his research field was perioperative fluid management, he worked on transfusion medicine and endothelial damage, including glycocalyx, as basic research. He moved to dental anesthesiology, which was his original research field. Recently, his research has focused on the pathophysiology of endothelial damage and vascular permeability.
In Prof. Iijima’s opinion, a good academic paper should contain a well-refined experimental plan and presentation that is easily digested by a wide range of readers. In his own practice, he always attempts to re-phrase so as to make his paper easy to understand by common readers. Smooth flow of logic of the paper is another essential criterion.
Speaking of the prevalence of data sharing in scientific writing, Prof. Iijima admits that he is not familiar with this concept. He shares, “If we could save work and utilize the data fairly, it would be beneficial. Up to now, I am not convinced that global data sharing is working well because the systems and regulations are not well established, and there is not yet global consensus.”
(by Brad Li, Alisa Lu)
Marina Carrasco-Llatas
Dr. Marina Carrasco-Llatas works as a Consultant and Assistant Professor of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Dr. Peset University Hospital and at IMED Hospital in Valencia, Spain. Her main research topic is Obstructive Sleep Apnea. She focuses mainly on research in drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE). She was one of the heads in the European position paper on DISE. She is the author or co-author of over 100 articles, book chapters and abstracts. She has participated as an invited speaker at national and international conferences. Furthermore, she is a reviewer for different prestigious ENT magazines. She has been the former president of the commission of SBD of the Spanish ENT Society (SEORL-CCC), founder member of the Spanish Sleep Medicine Federation (FESMES), board member of the European Academy of Sleep Medicine (EA-SM), and member of the International Sleep Surgery Society (ISSS) and the Spanish Sleep Society (SES).
In Dr. Carrasco-Llatas’ opinion, a good academic paper answers a question that is important for clinical daily work. It does not always have to be a positive question. A negative question, to her, could be very useful too. She believes that finding the time to review one’s work, and to put one’s ideas in order is the most commonly encountered difficulty in academic writing. She explains, “When you are a doctor and have to see many patients, you are too tired to review or answer simple questions. Most of the time, these simple questions have to be answered by conducting a clinical trial, not to mention going through ethical committee review or financial issues. This takes time and is not easy.”
“The fascination of academic writing starts with the first idea that you want to answer, then putting all together with your experience in a way that makes sense and can be useful – conducting research is a great exercise for learning. Sometimes when someone asks you about your work, you realize that it really has an impact. And through it, you can know more people with the same interests, which further improves the discussion,” says Dr. Carrasco-Llatas.
(by Brad Li, Masaki Lo)
Carlos J. Roldan
Dr. Carlos J. Roldan has been a Professor of Emergency Medicine at McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas, USA, since 2018, and an Associate Professor of Pain Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center since 2020. He is the first board-certified pain specialist in the state of Texas with an Emergency Medicine background. He is an active peer reviewer for international journals (n=10), with a total of 78 manuscripts appraised. He has published 60 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals (mostly as a lead author), presented a total of 53 abstracts at international societies, and published 16 book chapters in electronic and printed versions. Dr. Roldan’s most significant contribution to the Pain Medicine specialty has been the streamlining of non-narcotic-based therapy for the treatment of pain focused on oral mucositis, one of the most dreaded complications of cancer treatment around the world. For this pathology, he designed and implemented the use of Methylene Blue oral rinse, a safe, effective, and inexpensive alternative. Since its inception, it has become the first choice and benefited more than 3,000 patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center besides other institutions in the US, and at least 11 other countries, and is expected to “change the practice around the world”. Connect with him on X and Facebook.
According to Dr. Roldan, the essential elements of a good academic paper include a high-quality methodology and the minimization of biases. Authors should provide clear, logical, and simple explanations to the readers, minimizing misinformation about the topic discussed. In constructing a paper, authors must bear in mind simplification and conciseness of the message. That promotes an effective communication of one’s work reflected on the purpose, the tone, and the effect on the audience targeted.
(by Brad Li, Masaki Lo)
Emily Kahnert
Emily Kahnert, DPT, CCTT, is a physical therapist in temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) at Orofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Medicine Clinic at the University of Minnesota (MN) School of Dentistry. She completed her Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) at the University of MN, where her interest in treating performing artists led her to pursue specialty work with TMD. She has practiced exclusively with TMD and orofacial pain populations in multidisciplinary settings for 19 years. She earned her Certified Cervical and Temporomandibular Therapist (CCTT) designation through the Physical Therapy Board of Craniofacial and Cervical Therapeutics (PTBCCT) in 2019 and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of MN, studying telerehabilitation for individuals with TMD. Her research interests also include TMJ biomechanics and diagnostic classification, and she is part of a group currently writing a PT Clinical Practice Guideline for TMD conditions.
One of the most difficult aspects of academic writing, in Dr. Kahnert’s opinion, is making time for it. Authors must find time amidst clinic, teaching, and research responsibilities to add writing to their schedules. Another difficulty, according to her, is matching styles when collaborating with co-authors, though she finds that having co-authors provides helpful accountability for her to get her writing done. Finally, she thinks establishing the organization and flow to tell the story is essential. Without a basic sense of structure, it is easy to get lost in the details.
Academic writing often involves evidence synthesis. In Dr. Kahnert’s view, it is not enough to synthesize evidence based on its conclusions - assessing evidence quality is the key. The limitations of a study determine its strengths, and no research can avoid bias. “However, basing your decisions or hypotheses on poor-quality evidence undermines your conclusions. Research is full of trade-offs, and evidence synthesis relies on understanding how the authors balance those factors to determine whether it adds to your story or not,” adds she.
In addition, Dr. Kahnert emphasizes that disclosing Conflict of Interest (COI) is an important component that readers must see and understand to appropriately assess bias and therefore the quality of their evidence. She explains, “If there is COI, what did the authors do to address it? Readers need to know if a device study is funded by the company that makes it, or if it directly benefits the authors, so they can look for rigorous, systematic methods that control for bias such as blinding or ethical approval and oversight.”
(by Brad Li, Masaki Lo)