Call for Papers: 2027 Student Paper Collection

Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) welcomes submissions from high school, undergraduate, graduate, and recent postgraduate students, and medical students and residents for PCD’s annual Student Paper Collection. PCD is interested in publishing papers relevant to the prevention, screening, surveillance, and population-based intervention of chronic diseases, including but not limited to arthritis, asthma, cancer, depression, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

Eligibility

• Student applicants must be currently enrolled in a high school, undergraduate, graduate, or medical degree program. Postgraduate applicants must have received their graduate or medical degree within the past 12 months and be participating in a medical residency, postdoctoral fellowship, or similar training program under the supervision of a mentor, advisor, or principal investigator.
• Applicants should meet the standard to serve as first author. The first author is the person who conducted or led the topic being presented and prepared the first draft of the manuscript. The first author ensures that all other authors meet the criteria for authorship (Editorial Policy).
• Applicants and coauthors are expected to demonstrate the highest ethical standards in scholarly work (Editorial Policy).
• Applicants (not mentors) must serve as the corresponding author. No exceptions.
• Manuscripts must report on research done while the corresponding author was a student in an eligible student category.
• The research must have been completed within the last 12 months.
• Manuscripts must not be published previously or submitted elsewhere for publication.

Special Invitation to Submit an Essay: “Students Have Their Say: Novel Approaches and Solutions to Current and Emerging Public Health Problems”

Students may submit manuscripts according to any of the Types of Articles listed on the PCD website. If students choose to submit an Essay, PCD has the following requirements for students in addition to the instructions on the website.

Essay Requirements

Students who submit an Essay should focus on how to approach persistent or emerging public health challenges with new approaches and solutions. We believe that students are in a unique position to offer novel ideas and share fresh perspectives, and we want them to have their say! The essay may be written and submitted to the journal by one student or more than one student. Students should adhere to this format for an Essay:

• Identify the public health challenge
• Make the case for why it is a challenge
• Discuss existing or historical approaches used to address the challenge
• Identify innovative approaches and solutions
• Describe what populations, groups, organizations might benefit from the innovative approaches identified
• Conclude by discussing what the future would look like as a result of the uptake of the proposed innovative approaches

Cover Letter

At the time of submission, applicants must submit a cover letter indicating their interest in being considered for the 2027 Student Paper Collection. This cover letter must include:

• Name and contact information of the student’s advisor.
• Current level of academic enrollment: high school, undergraduate, graduate or medical degree, or applicable postgraduate residency, fellowship, or other training program.
• All required disclosures (funding, conflicts of interest, and use of copyrighted material).

Learn more about general cover letter requirements on PCD’s How to Submit a Manuscript page.

Letter of Recommendation

At the time of submission, applicants must provide a letter of recommendation from their advisor confirming the following:

• The student’s enrollment in a degree program or the postgraduate candidate’s residency or fellowship
• The research was conducted while in training under the advisor’s supervision
• The applicant conceptualized the analysis and was the primary author of the manuscript
• No one other than the applicant can serve as corresponding author

Deadline
The deadline to submit a final manuscript is 5:00 PM EST on Monday, March 12, 2027. PCD requires a cover letter from the corresponding author of every paper submitted to the journal. Student corresponding authors are required to submit a cover letter indicating they (and their coauthors, if applicable) are currently matriculated in school. The letter must also identify educational level (high school, undergraduate, graduate or medical student, recent postgraduate, or medical resident), area of study (major), and minor (if applicable).

Recognition for Winners in Each Category

• Acknowledgment in the Editor in Chief’s editorial
• Potential selection as a peer reviewer to determine next year’s winner

About the Journal
PCD is a peer-reviewed public health journal published by CDC and authored by experts worldwide. PCD was established in 2004 by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion with a mission to promote dialogue among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers worldwide on the integration and application of research findings and practical experience to improve population health. PCD has a current Impact Factor of 5.6 (2025) and is ranked in the top 9% of Public, Environmental & Occupational Health journals worldwide by Journal Citation Reports. For more information about the journal, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/pcd.