eLife welcomes early-career researcher to its Board of Directors

New board member will help oversee the strategic direction of eLife and support the organisation in its mission

January 12, 2018

The community behind eLife, including the research funders who support the journal, the editors and referees who run the peer-review process, and its Early-Career Advisory Group, is keenly aware of the pressures faced by early-stage investigators, and is working to create a more positive publishing experience that will help these researchers receive the recognition they deserve.

Dr. Prachee Avasthi, who is Assistant Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, US, will bring the voice of early-career faculty members to eLife’s board and encourage further involvement of early-career scientists in every level of the organisation, including the journal’s review process.

Toby Coppel, Chair of eLife’s Board of Directors, says: “We are delighted to welcome Prachee to the board. Her active engagement with early-stage researchers, and her strong passion to accelerate discovery in science, make her a tremendous addition to the eLife team. Welcome, Dr. Avasthi.”

Avasthi says: “I am honoured to be given the opportunity to serve as the first junior faculty member on the board. In this changing publication landscape, the needs and priorities of early-career researchers are often distinct from more established scientists, and it’s encouraging that eLife is welcoming early-career scientists into decision-making roles. I hope that I can use my new position to help create more opportunities for this community and leverage their enthusiasm and creativity to improve the biomedical research enterprise as a whole.”

About eLife

eLife aims to help scientists accelerate discovery by operating a platform for research communication that encourages and recognises the most responsible behaviours in science. eLife publishes important research in
all areas of the life and biomedical sciences, which is selected and evaluated by working scientists and made freely available online without delay. eLife also invests in innovation through open-source tool development to accelerate research communication and discovery. eLife's work is guided by the communities it serves. eLife is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society, the Wellcome Trust and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

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