Bench to Bedside: Lag Time versus Publication

In this weekly blog post I’d like us to think about the dissemination of our science. Will the advent of new technologies, such as blogging, electronic and open access online journals, and web 2.0 interactive technologies (user-generated content, facebook, etc…) change the way we disseminate and evaluate our work and the works of others? Will it lead to a shorter lag time from bench to bedside from the current 5-20 years? Will it lead academia to change the age old dictum of publish or perish?

I recently read an article in The Economist that discussed all these issues and even pointed me to a blog that discusses peer reviewed science called Research Blogging. This is only for after the research has been published however, not the original dissemination of work (although it can provide some visibility of the work) However, in the end, the question is how does this new world of technology relate to the emerging scholar? If on the academic track, as an emerging scholar you likely do not have tenure, meaning a significantly smaller soap box to stand from and significantly greater risks to job security to worry about. Furthermore, you would likely be concerned that you cannot get your work out prior to having it accepted for publication because you would be concerned that someone else might then beat you to the publishing punch, thus diminishing how your work is accepted within the community.

In this situation, we end up having to put our self interest versus the interests of improving the science in our given field and the lives of the elderly we wish to improve, a sticky ethical dilemma. On the one hand, by waiting until we publish we are A) receiving peer review so that our science is seen as stronger, and B) without publications it is difficult to receive further funding to perform future research which could be of greater help to the scientific elderly community. On the other hand however, by A) releasing our results as we complete our research we have the opportunity to get the word out faster, and B) disseminating through blogs or other similar types of postings making it easier for the lay public to understand and utilize, as they are more likely to read an article on a blog that popped up on a search engine, that in a less scientific writing style such as a formal publication.

Currently, it can take over 2 years from the completion of research to publication, and even then the results might not be widely disseminated because of the lack of access to the journal. So, I ask you, how do we ensure that our research has an impact and is reported in a timely manner, while still completing all of the necessary requirements for receiving tenure? What type of balance needs to occur and how can we affect change to improve on the current lag time from bench to bedside? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below so that we can have a dialogue on this topic!