Research Culture: Why scientific societies should involve more early-career researchers
- Board of Directors, Future of Research, United States
- ECR leader, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, United States
- Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP), United States
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, United States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, United States
Figures
Figure 1
The amount ECRs contribute to a society varies depending on their leadership role.
Out of the 20 societies studied, some include ECRs on their Board of Directors, whereas others encourage ECRs to participate in working groups that are specifically for ECRs. Leadership roles that have the most impact on the society, such as being a voting member on the Board of Directors, are less commonly held by ECRs compared to positions that have a lower impact, such as being a member of an ECR specific committee.
Figure 2
Examples of ECRs in leadership roles in scientific societies.
This table highlights societies that have successfully included ECRs in their leadership by giving ECRs voting rights on society boards, including ECRs in their diversity and inclusion initiatives, and more broadly engaging ECRs in different levels of the society. AAA – American Association for Anatomy; ASM – American Society for Microbiology; GSA – Genetics Society of America; APS – American Physiological Society; ASPB – American Society of Plant Biologists.
Figure 3
Benefits of ECR leadership positions within scientific societies for both ECRs and societies.
The benefits listed in this figure are based on answers given by ECRs and senior society leaders who were interviewed for this article. The interview questions are listed in Supplementary file 2.
Figure 4
Guidelines for involving ECRs in the leadership and running of scientific societies.
Recommendations for establishing leadership positions for ECRs within scientific societies, as recommended by successful programs.
Additional files
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Supplementary file 1
Crowd-sourced data on ECR leadership at 20 scientific societies.
- https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/60829/elife-60829-supp1-v1.xlsx
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Supplementary file 2
List of survey questions sent to executives and ECRs in leadership positions within societies.
- https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/60829/elife-60829-supp2-v1.docx
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Research Culture: Why scientific societies should involve more early-career researchers
eLife 9:e60829.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.60829
