(Toronto, January 25, 2022) JMIR Publications today announced the appointment of four new industry professionals in newly created roles, who will further energize and direct the accelerating growth of the organization. JMIR is the world’s leading “born digital” open access publisher, focused on creating innovative tools and new technologies that clarify and expand work at the intersection of digital health and open science.
Philippa Benson, PhD, joins as Editorial Director, leading the teams that support the growing family of JMIR journals. Philippa has led publication programs for several professional organizations and has launched an array of open access science journals, including Science Advances for AAAS and CABI Agriculture and Bioscience for the Center of Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI).
Over the course of her career, Philippa also served as a publishing consultant for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the United Nations, and Georgetown University, and she has travelled extensively—particularly in Asia—advocating for open access and ethical practices in research and publishing. Based in Maryland, Philippa is a long-time educator and co-author of the textbook “What Editors Want: An Author’s Guide to Scientific Journal Publishing,” which aims to provide authors with clear, complete explanations of the publishing process. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she continued her passion for author education by presenting dozens of free webinars on elements of success in science publishing to audiences in China, Europe, and North and West Africa.
David Kim joins as Director of Partnerships and Open Access Research to spearhead JMIR’s efforts to meet the evolving needs of the scientific community in digital medicine and health. Previously, David worked for Wiley in a variety of roles, ranging from journal and editorial strategy, business development, and society relations management. Throughout his career, David’s focus has been on developing value-driven business opportunities and working with scientific societies to address the evolving needs of educators, researchers, and professional society leaders.
David is a long-time advocate for equitable and inclusive workplaces, which is well reflected by his role as a Board Advisor for the Women in Science at Columbia University. A Columbia University graduate, David was a Fellow at the Society for Scholarly Publishing, and he continues his academic pursuits at the Johns Hopkins School of Education at the intersection of technology and the democratization of knowledge. Based in the New York metro area, David is an avid Dragon Boat racer and long-distance rider on his Harley-Davidson bagger. He thrives on developing novel collaborations, making him a perfect fit for JMIR's fast-paced culture.
Tiffany I Leung, MD, MPH, joins as Scientific Editor, focusing on digital health publications. In this new role, Tiffany brings her experience as a researcher, editor, and physician to ensure that JMIR’s portfolio of journals consistently publish rigorous and impactful science that is relevant to both the clinician and the researcher.
Tiffany supports JMIR’s academic editors who are working at the evolving intersection of patient care, clinical informatics, health systems transformation, and technology advancements. Her experience working with patients has cemented her commitment to advancing clear communication of complex science as well as the need for innovations to provide new answers to persistent questions in the public health community. She is also a practicing telemedicine physician. Tiffany holds a medical degree from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and has held academic positions at Stanford University School of Medicine, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Maastricht University, and Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She is co-chair of the Women in American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Steering Committee. Tiffany infuses her work with a strong belief in growth-oriented work environments that foster individual well-being and authenticity.
Amaryllis Mavragani, PhDc joins the team as Scientific Editor, supporting the JMIR family of journals through her background in publishing, computer science, mathematics, and infodemiology.
Amaryllis brings extensive knowledge of big data, public health surveillance, and public health to her editorial duties through her impressive success as a researcher and published author. Her commitment to advancing JMIR’s mission of publishing high-quality, groundbreaking science lies in her skills of navigating the intersection of informatics research, digital health technologies, and STM publishing. Her research has covered topics ranging from foundational work in infodemiology to trends in analytical research of online data, to a broad range of big data studies related to COVID-19. Amaryllis’ PhD candidacy is at the University of Stirling, and she admits to fueling herself with coffee and refueling with music!
“We are thrilled to bring in this rare set of industry professionals to fill out our leadership team across the globe as JMIR thrives through a period of unprecedented growth,” said Prof Dr Gunther Eysenbach, JMIR Publications’ Founder, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Executive Editor.
“JMIR’s unique culture of innovation and teamwork empowers us to attract and bring together diverse talents from the science and publishing community. Our newest additions bring together sharp intellect and honed skill sets that will amplify our commitment to innovation and digital health and accelerate open science for all,” added Adrian Stanley, General Manager, JMIR Publications.
About JMIR Publications
JMIR Publications (www.jmirpublications.com) is a leading, born-digital, open access publisher of 30+ academic journals and other innovative scientific communication products that focus on medicine, health, and technology. Its flagship journal, the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is the leading digital health journal globally in terms of quality and visibility in the medical informatics domain and is the largest journal in the field.
At JMIR, we are passionate about innovating in the scholarly communication space itself, experimenting with innovative business models and metrics, new models of peer review and dissemination, and emerging technologies. We envision a world where people are empowered by health research and technology to make effective and informed decisions, take control of their health and well-being, and live happier and healthier lives.