A View Through The Laryngoscope
On the evening of October 1, faculty, residents, and guests gathered in Byers Auditorium at Genentech Hall on UCSF's Mission Bay campus for the annual Robert A. Schindler, MD Endowed Lectureship. This year's lecturer was Samuel H. Selesnick, MD, FACS, Professor and Vice Chairman of Otolaryngology at Weill Cornell Medical College and Editor-in-Chief of The Laryngoscope, the world's oldest and largest otolaryngology journal.
Publishing, from the editor's chair
Few people see the inner workings of medical publishing as clearly as the editor of a major journal, and Dr. Selesnick brought that vantage point to his talk, "Important Issues in Scholarly Publishing – A View Through the Laryngoscope." He walked the audience through three questions that matter to every clinician and researcher who reads, reviews, or submits work:
- How do you judge a journal? Dr. Selesnick discussed the established criteria for evaluating the quality and credibility of scholarly journals, a skill that grows more important as the number of outlets competing for manuscripts keeps rising.
- What does open access change? He explained the principles behind open access publishing and how the model is reshaping the way research is shared, read, and paid for.
- Where does AI fit? Finally, he looked at the ways artificial intelligence is entering scholarly publishing, along with the opportunities it offers and the challenges it raises for authors, reviewers, and editors alike.
About our lecturer
Dr. Selesnick is an internationally recognized expert in otology, neurotology, and skull base surgery. In addition to his roles at Weill Cornell, he is a member of the Department of Neurological Surgery at both Weill Cornell and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He has held leadership roles in major professional societies, lectured in more than 20 countries, and published extensively throughout his career.
Time with our residents
As with every visiting professorship, one of the highlights of the visit was the time Dr. Selesnick spent with our residents. Conversations with a journal editor are a rare chance for trainees to ask candid questions about writing, peer review, and building an academic career.
About the Schindler Lectureship
The Robert A. Schindler, MD Endowed Lectureship was established in 2004 by Dr. Robert A. Schindler and Janet Feinberg Schindler. Dr. Schindler chaired the UCSF Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery from 1989 to 1999 and devoted much of his career to advancing cochlear implant technology at UCSF. The lectureship brings leading figures in the field to campus each year to share their expertise with our faculty and trainees.
Our thanks to Dr. Selesnick for an engaging and timely lecture, to Department Chair Dr. Andrew Murr and Dr. Charles Limb, Chief of the Division of Otology, Neurotology and Skull Base Surgery, for hosting, and to everyone who joined us at Mission Bay.
Learn more about upcoming department events at ohns.ucsf.edu/events.
