Stefania Mondello, YPL 2018, Contributes to Global Initiative Against 'Paper Mills'

Stefania Mondello, a participant in the IAP Young Physician Leaders (YPL) programme in 2018, has been actively involved in efforts to combat so-called 'paper mills' in scholarly publishing. Mondello is associated with United2Act, an international coalition working collectively to address the challenges posed by paper mills in academic research.

"Paper mills are the process by which manufactured manuscripts are submitted to a journal for a fee on behalf of researchers with the purpose of providing an easy publication for them, or to offer authorship for sale", details the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Paper mills present a significant threat to the integrity of scholarly literature, necessitating collaborative action from various stakeholders. United2Act convened a virtual summit in May 2023, engaging participants from research bodies, publishers, universities and other relevant entities across 15 countries. The summit resulted in the development of a Consensus Statement outlining key areas of action to mitigate the impact of paper mills on academic research and publishing.

Mondello emphasizes the importance of collective engagement in addressing this issue, stating, "We encourage IAP member academies to review the Statement and ideally sign up to it. Also, if anyone wants to contribute to our ongoing working groups, feel free to get in touch via IAP."

Stefania Mondello, MD, MPH, PhD, is a distinguished physician scientist with a sub-specialty in critical care medicine and extensive expertise in clinical neurotrauma, biomarker research and statistical analysis methods. Mondello's dedication to advancing scientific knowledge extends beyond research endeavours. She serves on the editorial boards of several international journals and acts as a reviewer for leading scientific publications. Her expertise has been sought after in grant review programmes nationally and internationally, reflecting her standing as a respected authority in the field.

The Consensus Statement, endorsed by United2Act, has garnered attention within the academic community, with coverage in reputable publications such as Nature and COPE Digest. It reflects the commitment of stakeholders to upholding ethical standards in scholarly publishing and combating fraudulent practices associated with paper mills, while fostering rigorous outstanding research that embraces innovation, makes advances, and has the potential to significantly impact on individuals and society.

For further inquiries or to contribute to this initiative, contact United2Act via email at contact@united2act.org.

United2Act's Consensus Statement can be accessed here.
Read the Nature article about the initiative here.
Read more about Stefania Mondello's work here.
Read more about the Young Physician Leaders Programme here.