While many early-career researchers (ECR) already contribute substantially to peer review as co-referees, their work is often unrecognized.
Scientific journals also face a peer review bottleneck as publication volumes continue to rise while the pool of available reviewers grows more slowly, and although peer review is pivotal to the scientific process, training in reviewing is rarely offered.
To address these challenges, EMBO has launched an initiative to invite senior postdoctoral researchers to participate directly in peer review at Review Commons and the EMBO Press journals.
The initiative, led for EMBO by Sara Monaco (Review Commons) and Bernd Pulverer (EMBO Press), was developed in collaboration with the EMBL postdoctoral programme.
Head of the EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme Karin Dumstrei and EMBL postdocs took part in the effort to design a framework that would provide postdocs with meaningful experience.
Designing the initiative
EMBL postdocs and EMBO Fellows with at least two years of postdoctoral experience were invited to self-nominate.
To ensure balanced perspectives, editors aimed to include one postdoc among the three reviewers and encourage cross-commenting between the referees. Editors were available to answer questions and provide feedback to ECR referees.
The pilot now includes more than 150 ECR referees. Participants demonstrated an above average willingness to contribute reports. Editors systematically evaluated reviews against criteria including scientific insight, depth of analysis, constructiveness and actionable recommendations, and found that the quality of postdoc reviews matched that of seasoned referees.
Peer review training
In January, EMBO Press hosted a first training and discussion forum for ECR referees. The webinar offered insights into how editors use referee reports in editorial decision-making and what makes a review helpful for authors, and gave participants the opportunity to share their experiences and discuss future development of the project.
“This initiative aligns with the EMBO Press commitment to transparent peer review and referee credit,” says Pulverer. “Through academic credit for review as well as training and feedback, we aim to ensure referees are rewarded for the incredible effort they put into peer review. Our goal is to embed peer review as a formal, valorized part of the academic process.”
Encouraged by the success of the pilot, the initiative has expanded to include the labs of EMBO members and postdocs at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus in the United States. Additional research institutions are invited to consider joining this new model of peer review.
“The pilot demonstrates that including experienced postdocs in peer review is feasible, valuable and scalable,” says Monaco. “The successful response points to a sustainable way of engaging ECRs more openly in the publishing process.”
