A new University of Louisville student-driven, peer-reviewed undergraduate research journal has launched its first issue.
The journal, The Cardinal Edge, is meant to highlight student research and scholarship across all disciplines. The inaugural issue includes pieces on isolated galaxies, legal history, medicine and more.
“The point of research is to communicate it,” said Jahnavi Sunkara, co-editor-in-chief of the journal, senior biology major and Guaranteed Entrance to Medical School (GEMS) student. “We wanted to provide an avenue for undergraduate students to relay their research, as they’re the core of incredible research projects at UofL.”
The Cardinal Edge editorial team worked with UofL Libraries to develop an open-access portal where students can submit their work and read the journal. The goal is to help students share their work and prepare for future publishing by gaining experience as authors and editors.
The journal will publish once per year, and undergraduate students at UofL are now able to submit full-length manuscripts, brief reports and literature reviews for the 2022 issue.
Currently, only UofL students can submit articles, but the journal may accept work from other universities in the future. Submitted papers will be evaluated by faculty and students through a double-blind peer review process, in which the identities of reviewers and authors are kept hidden, before the final issue is curated by the journal’s student editorial board.
Aside from faculty advisers Mark Running and Shira Rabin, of the Department of Biology, and their journal sponsor, Charlie Leonard, executive director of the UofL Grawemeyer Awards, every member of the editorial staff is an undergraduate student.
“We are grateful to the programs, organizations and individuals on campus who have promoted and continue to support our mission,” said Betty Ngo, a junior psychology and biology major, Grawemeyer Scholar and co-editor-in-chief of the journal. “We hope to increase our visibility in UofL’s community and strengthen our reputation as an academic journal in upcoming years”.
You can view and download published articles here.
