In 2024, SHC reviewers continue to make outstanding contributions to the peer review process. They demonstrated professional effort and enthusiasm in their reviews and provided comments that genuinely help the authors to enhance their work.
Hereby, we would like to highlight some of our outstanding reviewers, with a brief interview of their thoughts and insights as a reviewer. Allow us to express our heartfelt gratitude for their tremendous effort and valuable contributions to the scientific process.
January, 2024
Shugo Uematsu, Northern Yokohama Hospital, Japan
January, 2024
Shugo Uematsu
Shugo Uematsu currently serves as an associate professor at the Respiratory Disease Center of Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital. His specialty is thoracic surgery, particularly thoracic malignancies. As a front-line surgeon, he performs many types of surgeries, ranging from minimum to highly invasive. Unlike other thoracic surgeons, he also treats advanced lung cancer for which surgery is not indicated and provides palliative care. This style of practice gives him a firsthand understanding of the impact of surgical treatment on other treatments, allowing him to provide the best possible care to the patients. Moreover, these experiences have led him to study the impact of surgical treatment on patients’ prognoses and quality of life. Recently, he conducts basic research on the application of optical technology in the surgical field.
In Dr. Uematsu’s opinion, research results affect human health, and inappropriate research results may mislead other studies, crushing the inspiration of other researchers. Therefore, research articles must be valid and accurate, and must not justify accidental results. Peer review is one effective way to eliminate such inappropriate research results before they become public knowledge.
Dr. Uematsu reckons that, to evaluate the article's validity, a survey of relevant research is necessary. And to evaluate its accuracy, it is also necessary to investigate whether the cited references have been properly handled. However, when the cited references are from paid or membership journals, it is difficult for reviewers to assume the procedures and costs of obtaining them. With such limitations to scrutinizing articles that cite references that are not readily available, he suggests that the peer-review system undertakes the research cost and procedure for reviewers.
“The partner involved in the peer review may be a colleague in the article’s field or a leader in the research area. Through peer review, you will learn what aspects of the article your partner focused on. Therefore, peer review is an opportunity to brush up on your knowledge,” says Dr. Uematsu.
(by Lareina Lim, Brad Li)
