Some of the many pioneering researchers and
clinicians who chose to publish open access research with BioMed Central
discuss their research topics and share their comments about the importance of
the Internet and open access to scientific and medical research.

If you have published with us and would like to have
your profile featured please send your photo and comments to oaafrica@biomedcentral.com.

Dr Eyob Zere 

Dr Eyob Zere is currently the Senior Health Systems
Advisor with Africa’s Health, AED based in Washington DC. Prior to that he
worked with the WHO Regional Office for Africa for over 10 years as Advisor for
health systems and health economics in various countries of the region,
sub-regional and regional office. 

“The publication process is indeed
simple and friendly. The review is done in a relatively short time and
reviewers comments provided to us as soon as they are received. Furthermore,
the fee waiver for those writing from Africa encourages researchers
tremendously and goes a long way in bridging inequities in health research. 

“The research has benefitted from
being open access. In those low-income countries in Africa where subscription
to paid journals is limited due to financial constraints, it is not possible
for a published article to make an impact on the ground in terms of informing
policies and contributing to evidence-based decision making. Furthermore, I
find it that my publications in the open access journals are more often cited
than those published in limited access journals – this is an advantage for my
own career development.”

Pierre
Durand 

Pierre
Durand works at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Haematology,
University of the Witwatersrand and National Health Laboratory Service,
Johannesburg, South Africa. He is using laboratory and computational methods to
investigate determinants of genome evolution in unicellular organisms. 

“I
thought the submission and review process at BioMed Central was professional,
uncomplicated and rapid, which I appreciated.”

Dr.
W . L. Adeyemo 

Dr
Adeyemo is a senior lecturer with the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial
Surgery at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He is currently researching the
quality of life after surgical/non-surgical tooth extraction; the necessity for
blood transfusion in cleft lip and palate surgery; and, ultrasound diagnosis of
maxillofacial fractures. 

“Publishing
in an open access journal afforded me the opportunity to interact with the
scientific community regarding my research activities.”

Ali
Samadikuchaksaraei 

Ali
Samadikuchaksaraei is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology
at the Iran University of Medical Sciences. He is currently working on the
engineering and regeneration of lung, skin, bone, and spinal cord, as well as
researching high-tech medical education development.

“The
paper was highly accessed and I realized that my assessment of the existing
need for such a review was correct.”

Philip
C Hill

Philip
Hill is a Clinical Epidemiologist with the Bacterial Diseases Programme in
Gambia, where his team is researching tuberculosis and pneumococcal disease.
Philip is also leading a project to establish a pneumococcal surveillance
system to accompany the introduction of pneumococcal vaccine into Africa. 

“Working
in a developing country I feel like I need to be one of those to take a lead in
this respect, and publish much of my work in open-access journals.”

Joses
M Kirigia 

Joses
M Kirigia works with the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa
as a Regional Advisor for Health Economics. Before joining WHO he was a Senior
Lecturer and Coordinator of a Health Economics Masters Program at the
University of Cape Town, South Africa. 

“Open Access journals are crucial not only
in reducing the permanent loss of … knowledge, but also in improving access for
those living and working in resource-poor settings. These journals are making
an immense contribution towards bridging the knowledge-gap between economically
rich and poor.”