Questionable firms tempt young doctors with ‘easy’ publications

Last year, physician Rupak Desai co-authored more than three dozen conference abstracts in Circulation , the American Heart Association’s (AHA’s) flagship journal. The works marked a modest fraction of his publications in 2023 , which totaled 162. But Desai, scholarly productivity notwithstanding, is not employed by a hospital, university, nor any other type of scientific institution. Based in Atlanta, Desai runs a business that offers junior doctors from around the world a chance to beef up their CVs before applying for coveted residency or fellowship positions at hospitals or physician offices in the United States. For about $1000 and a commitment to work 10 to 15 hours remotely over a few weeks, last year’s participants in Desai’s Express Research Workshop could get a byline on three abstracts submitted to AHA’s biggest annual conference, the Scientific Sessions meeting, according to an online ad that was removed after Science contacted Desai for this story. “With our guidance, you could be published in the prestigious Cardiology journal [ Circulation ] before or during your next application season,” the ad promised. A “combo” deal for an additional $600 also offered abstracts slated for another conference, as well as “continued work” on “at least 2 full papers for PubMed indexation” over the following 6 months. (Although they’re not peer reviewed, published conference abstr...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news