As a postdoctoral researcher at UCSF, Angela Andersen was always curious to know what happens “behind the scenes” after you submit a scientific paper to a journal. “How are reviewers chosen, how long does this process take, what goes into choosing reviewers or deciding whether to send a paper for review?” said Angela, mentioning some of the questions that had plagued her mind. When she transitioned into the role of an editor at the journal Cell, she got a glimpse into the publishing world and found her answers.
She was quite fascinated by what she learnt when she saw the publishing process from a whole new perspective. Angela really enjoyed the opportunity of interacting with other editors—all of whom were also scientists who had left the bench and moved on to editing.
A new opportunity for her husband in Salt Lake City and the inability to work remotely for Cell led to a change of plans and her move back to the bench. Once she returned, she had a quick and startling realization, about how easy it is to forget the frustrating pressures of active research even if you briefly step away from it. “You forget how grueling it is to wait for an editorial decision or be asked to do another experiment,” she said.
Reflecting on her experiences at Cell, she realized that reviewers would suggest experiments in order to raise the submitted papers to a certain level they expected. But whether the scientists could actually achieve that was not necessarily the editors’ concern. “There’s a real disconnect there between the publishing world and the academic world,” Angela points out.
Having witnessed both the scientists’ anguish and the publishers’ expectations, Angela decided to use her experience as an editor to help scientists publish better. With that aim, she started a for-profit company called Life Science Editors (LSE) with Helen Pickersgill in 2015. “It’s important to be able to understand the perspective of the scientist, what’s feasible, and what they are going through as well,” she said. Angela and Helen met as editors when Helen was working in Developmental Cell, and Angela was working at Cell. They co-founded LSE to help scientists edit their research articles and grant applications in a way that makes them more persuasive to editors and reviewers.
Angela particularly cares about helping under-represented scientists publish their work successfully, given the fact that they don’t have access to the same kind of networks and feedback. 2020 was a turning point when the raging pandemic brought additional struggles for academics, and in particular for working mothers who had to balance domestic responsibilities and the pressures of publishing. It was also the year when George Floyd was murdered in the United States. Struck by how vulnerable populations were the ones who suffered the most in difficult times, Angela and Helen decided to establish a non-profit company with a mission similar to LSE called Life Sciences Editors Foundation (LSEF). This was targeted particularly towards under-represented scientists, who had been held back due to systemic discrimination based on gender, race, or sexual orientation. At LSEF, Angela was able to work with a team of volunteer editors and reviewers who helped scientists with their writing, this time for free.
“It’s pretty amazing. So, with the for-profit company, we get people who have some extra funds they can spend on getting the consulting. With the foundation and the non-profit, it’s a very different population,” said Angela. “We get a lot more breadth in terms of the demographics with the foundation than we do with the for-profit. It’s very interesting running the two companies.”
Angela runs LSEF with the help of co-director Dr. Sabbi Lall and inputs from a board of academics and non-academics. Under-represented scientists who have a manuscript, grant proposal, or job application can apply for the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) awards, which are offered quarterly via the LSEF. Successful awardees can get an editor/reviewer perspective from one of the many volunteers, mostly scientists who have also worked in journal editing before, who help them strengthen their writing and improve their pitch, content, and narrative. LSEF also offers a JEDI alumni award, where the awardees team up with volunteers for a longer period of one to two years and work on improving multiple grants and papers over the period.
“The JEDI award gives some edits in isolation and a sense of the project, and the alumni award is developing a real relationship with somebody that provides support,” said Angela. Angela wants to ensure that under-represented scientists have the support they need, both in terms of tangible help in the form of informed feedback on their writing as well as moral support. “There’s definitely a sense that in science, there is some mysterious process and some insider connections, which is something we want to diminish. We want to level the playing field. We are pretty well-connected, and we want to leverage those networks to help people who are less well-connected. I would just like everyone to be as connected as possible and for those kinds of connections to be as accessible as possible.”
Phaedra Ghazi, a graduate student at the University of Utah and a JEDI award recipient, was assigned a volunteer editor through Angela, who gave really in-depth feedback on her manuscript. The feedback seemed overwhelming at first but was very helpful to her as a graduate student still learning the ropes of writing a paper.
“I was definitely a very redundant writer, so he (Li-Kuo Su) helped me write a very concise sentence without any fluff or extra words and write it in the simplest way possible; that was really helpful,” said Phaedra.
Crystal Rogers, an associate professor at UC Davis, had been struggling to get her grants funded during the pandemic. She realized that the main reason her grant applications were unsuccessful was because she couldn’t get good feedback. She found out about the JEDI awards on Twitter and applied. After she received the award, Angela worked with her on the NSF career grant proposal and helped her greatly improve the communication. “It’s not that the science was bad; I was just not doing a good job at telling the story to the reviewers,” explained Crystal. Angela’s advice and group writing with other scientists helped Crystal strengthen her NSF career grant application, and when she finally submitted it, this time, she was successful.
“An award like this allowed me to ask for help when I needed it, even if I wouldn’t have maybe asked for help otherwise. It also opened me up to asking for help from my peers, other people I know who are doing really well writing grants,” said Crystal.
She emphasized the importance of seeking help and support during grant writing and not making it a lonely process that one needs to endure alone. Crystal thinks that the JEDI awards are a great opportunity for scientists who don’t necessarily have the institutional support or funding that can pay for the services offered by LSE. “The fact that they [Angela’s team] do this [LSEF] pro bono, it’s basically free for the investigator; there’s no reason not to sign up or not to apply.”
When asked about her favorite part of the job, Angela admitted that there were actually two favorite parts. One was learning new science, seeing a research paper, and learning something new each time. But her most favorite part is meeting the scientists, meeting new people, and just seeing people’s passion and love for science. “LSEF has been pretty spectacular. I have met scientists in Africa and read papers about elephants raiding croplands and parasites I had never heard of before. It’s been really fascinating, humbling, and important.”
Author-
Rohini Subrahmanyam is a postdoctoral researcher and a freelance science journalist currently at Harvard University. She works with human stem cells and brain organoids and did her PhD in neuroscience at NCBS, Bangalore. As a science writer, she mostly likes writing about interesting creatures on our planet, ranging from zombie flies and regenerating worms to intelligent octopuses and mysterious comb jellies. As a freelance science writer, her bylines include The Harvard Gazette, The Wire, The Scientist, The Xylom, and The Hindu.
Editors-
Sumbul Jawed Khan and Roopsha Sengupta
Cover image by Manasi Pethe, follow her art on Pethdoodles
Read about Helen Pickergill’s journey from editor to co-founder of LSE and LSEF here.
