Statement of the eLife Board of Directors

The board of eLife, which governs the organisation, has made the decision to replace our Editor-in-Chief.

The board of eLife*, which governs the organisation, has made the decision to replace our Editor-in-Chief.

We thank Mike Eisen for his creativity and vision in building eLife’s transformative new publishing model. Mike has been given clear feedback from the board that his approach to leadership, communication and social media has at key times been detrimental to the cohesion of the community we are trying to build and hence to eLife’s mission. It is against this background that a further incidence of this behaviour has contributed to the board’s decision.

The board remains committed to eLife’s 'Publish – Review – Curate' model and to the important role that early-career scientists play in making it a success.

Following this decision, the board has asked two long-serving eLife Deputy Editors, Detlef Weigel and Tim Behrens, to serve as co-Editors-in-Chief until the end of 2024. We plan to conduct a search for a new Editor-in-Chief in the second half of 2024.

*the board of eLife consists of representatives of the founder funders (HHMI, Max Planck and Wellcome), and independent board members including a chair. The board governs eLife and is distinct from the staff and editors.