Journal of Personalized Medicine | Summary of Academic Publishing Workshop at Aston University Held on 7 July 2026
MDPI, represented by Senior Deputy Managing Editor, Mary O’Sullivan, and Deputy Managing Editor, Amy Turner, was excited to collaborate with Dr. Jaimy Saif, Senior Lecturer at Aston University, United Kingdom. Together, they organized an Academic Publishing Workshop for professors and students at the university. This workshop aimed to provide attendees with a comprehensive understanding of the open access publishing landscape, clarify MDPI’s editorial processes, and offer practical guidance on publication ethics and manuscript preparation. The event was attended by 12 participants.
Event: Academic Publishing Workshop at Aston University with Journal of Personalized Medicine:
- Organized by Dr. Jaimy Saif, MDPI UK and Journal of Personalized Medicine;
- Date: 7 July 2026;
- Location: Aston University Main Campus, Main Building, Ground Floor, Room G79;
- Speakers: Mary O'Sullivan and Amy Turner;
- Language: English;
- Number of participants: 12 attendees.
This insightful event brought together experts in academic publishing to discuss key topics including open access, editorial workflows, and publication ethics.
The session began with an opening speech by Dr. Jaimy Saif, our Guest Editor of the Journal of Personalized Medicine (JPM, ISSN 2075-4426), who set a welcoming and professional tone for the gathering.
Following the introduction, Amy Turner presented on “The Benefits of Open Access Publishing and MDPI’s Editorial Process”. She highlighted the advantages of open access in expanding the reach of research and provided a comprehensive overview of MDPI’s rigorous and efficient editorial workflow.
Next, Mary O’Sullivan delivered an informative talk titled “Publication Ethics, Reasons for Manuscript Rejection, and How to Respond”. She emphasized the critical importance of maintaining ethical standards in academic publishing, analyzed common reasons for manuscript rejection, and offered practical, constructive advice on how authors can effectively respond to and address these challenges.
The presentations were followed by a short Q&A session co-hosted by Amy and Mary. They jointly addressed questions from the attendees, sparking an interactive and engaging discussion.
Overall, the event provided valuable insights into the open access publishing model and equipped participants with practical strategies to enhance their manuscripts and navigate the publication process successfully.
- Organizer: Dr. Jaimy Saif
Dr. Saif's background is in immunotherapy (from PhD studies) and therapeutic angiogenesis. Dr. Saif has worked on reparative angiogenesis in different labs in Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany, the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Spain, and the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University in UK.
Dr. Saif joined the Vascular Regeneration Team, led by Prof. Asif Ahmed, at Aston University in 2018, researching etiology and developing new therapies for pre-eclampsia. She is a PhD scientist but most of her previous mentors were clinical academics, which helped her to participate in translational research to influence clinical practice. She currently works as a Senior Lecturer in Aston Medical School, leading the Cardiovascular and Respiratory System Blocks in Phase I of the MBChB Program at Aston Medical School. She also works as the Phase I Assessment Implementation Lead.