The community behind eLife – including the research funders who support the initiative, and the leading scientists who run the journal – are keenly aware of the pressures faced by junior investigators. To pursue their research interests and advance their careers, early-stage investigators need to communicate their scientific accomplishments and build their reputations. eLife aims to help.
eLife supports early-career researchers in a number of ways:
Our editorial process: The eLife editors provide prompt and constructive feedback to authors, to give students and postdocs in particular a productive publishing experience, and to help reduce delay in the communication of their research.
The eLife-sponsored presentation series: Twice a year, we invite the pre-tenure authors on selected eLife papers to present their work at a scientific meeting of one of eLife’s founders.
Interviews: eLife interviews early-career researchers to explore how they became interested in science, what they are working on now, and what they hope to achieve in future.
Look inside another lab: In 2014, eLife provided an opportunity to look inside four different labs around the world, as research groups in England, Germany, and the US took over the eLife Twitter account to talk about their work, the coolest things in their labs, developments in their fields, and introduce some group members.
Letters of recommendation: The senior editors of eLife, who are themselves working scientists, will write a letter of recommendation on behalf of the first author of eLife papers, on request, for use in job and grant applications.
What’s more, today we’re very pleased to announce that fourteen talented and passionate junior investigators have joined us as members of the “eLife Early-career advisory group.” These individuals, who include students, post-doctoral fellows, and junior group leaders from ten countries, will -- alongside the broader community of scientists behind eLife -- help make the eLife vision for transforming the way scientists communicate their research a reality.
It is among the next generation of scientists that we sense the greatest appetite for change in science and science communication, and we look forward to working with this group on the future of eLife, and how we can help them to thrive.
Learn more about the eLife Early-career advisory group, what eLife offers early-career researchers, and how to contribute http://www.elifesciences.org/careers.
