The first edition of the Journal of Science & Health at The University of Alabama, or JOSHUA, includes articles related to cloning, gene patenting, Parkinson’s disease research and other topics.
Sarah Adair, one of five UA students named to USA Today‘s All-USA College Academic team, and Nabeel Ahmed Memon, a winner of UA’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, served as the publication’s co-editors. The journal was student-written and edited.
“This is a forum for our students to publish their research and to express their opinions on scientific issues,” said Dr. Guy Caldwell, assistant professor of biological sciences and faculty advisor to Kappa Beta, the UA chapter of Tri-Beta that started the journal. Tri-Beta is the national honor society for biological sciences.
“We are a growing research university and solid efforts are under way involving talented undergraduate researchers,” said Caldwell, a faculty member in UA’s College of Arts and Sciences. Producing this publication gives students experience writing scientific papers, a key measurement of the success of scientists and educators.
While the content of the first edition is biological, Caldwell said the goal is to involve undergraduate researchers in various science and health disciplines across campus. Plans are to produce the publication annually. It can be accessed online at http://bama.ua.edu/~joshua. Cody Locke, a sophomore biology student who won the 2003 Benjamin-Cummings Biology Award, developed the online version.