Call for Papers | Students Have Their Say: Novel Approaches and Solutions to Current and Emerging Public Health Problems

Students are invited to submit manuscripts in any of PCD’s article type categories describing how to approach persistent current 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!

Contest Goals

• Provide applicants with an opportunity to become familiar with a journal’s manuscript submission requirements and peer-review process
• Assist applicants to connect their knowledge and training on conducting quality research with a journal’s publication expectations
• Develop applicants’ research and scientific writing skills to become producers of knowledge in addition to consumers of knowledge
• Provide applicants with an opportunity to become first author on a peer-reviewed paper
• Promote supportive, respectful, and mutually beneficial author―mentor relationships that result in strengthening applicants’ ability to generate and submit future scholarly manuscripts

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.
• Applicants and coauthors are expected to demonstrate the highest ethical standards in scholarly work.
• 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• Manuscripts must not be published previously or submitted elsewhere for publication.

Cover Letter

At the time of submission, applicants must submit a cover letter indicating their interest in being considered for the Student Paper Contest. 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 Friday, April 17, 2026. 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).

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