Scientific Writing Drive at UG Medical School Yields 100 Peer-Reviewed Publications in 12 Months
A planned scientific writing mentorship initiative at the Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), has led to the production of 100 full-length journal articles within a 12-month period.
The initiative, code-named Operation 100x12, was spearheaded by Prof. Eric Sampane-Donkor, Head of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Director, West African Research and Capacity Building Program in Antimicrobial Resistance (NIH Funded), with the goal of building a culture of scientific writing, mentorship and ethical publication among early-career researchers.
“We set out to create an environment where young scientists could develop strong writing skills while learning to avoid predatory publishing,” said Prof. Sampane-Donkor. “This achievement shows that it is possible to combine speed, quality and mentorship to produce impactful scientific work.”
The core team included three national service personnel, five research assistants, three PhD students and two postdoctoral fellows, all of whom were closely mentored throughout the year. The articles span various fields in infectious diseases, with particular emphasis on global health, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and food safety.
To maintain high standards, the team resolved to publish only in journals indexed in Scopus and PubMed, with an impact factor of at least 2.0. Of the 103 papers submitted between June 2024 and June 2025, 47 have been published or fully accepted, 20 are undergoing minor or major revisions and 36 remain under peer review.
The published works include systematic reviews and studies that have gained international attention. A review on Shigellosis in Africa was featured by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), while another article on cancer and AMR also received coverage from CIDRAP. A third study on antibiotic resistance in hospital wastewater in West Africa was highlighted by AMR Insights.
Prof. Sampane-Donkor said the team adopted a transactional leadership model, which provided them with hands-on guidance from ideation to final submission. The team also benefited from article processing charge (APC) waivers from journals under Biomed Central (BMC), Elsevier and Sage, saving over GBP 60,000 in publishing fees.
“Thanks to BMC’s waiver policy, we submitted 33 articles to various BMC journals in areas such as microbiology, neurology, infectious diseases and medical genomics,” Prof. Sampane-Donkor explained.
Participants say the mentorship has had a transformative effect on their careers. Samuel Nee-Amugie Yartey, a national service person, authored nine papers during the period, including two first-author publications in journals such as Scientific Reports and International Health. Abdul-Halim Osman, a research assistant who joined the programme before starting a PhD at Michigan State University, co-authored three systematic reviews.
“Operation 100x12 has proven to be a powerful model of mentorship that can be replicated across departments and faculties to boost scientific output and strengthen academic publishing culture at UG,” Prof. Sampane-Donkor added.
The full list of published papers is available at: https://sites.google.com/view/publications100x12/home