We are very pleased that just four weeks after our launch, we are now in a position to announce the first group of almost 150 scientists who have joined the Editorial Board of PeerJ. As we build up this Board, we have formed two groups of Editors – the main ‘Editorial Board of Academic Editors’ and a much smaller ‘Academic Advisory Board’.
Academic Editors are the scientists who will take ownership of each individual submission to the PeerJ journal. They will seek peer reviewers, evaluate their responses, and make the publication decision for every submission. Each of them is an expert in their field of study, and many have considerable experience editing for other journals. They have responsibility for their own editorial decisions and their name will be published on the final article as the handling editor.
The Academic Advisory Board is made up of a smaller group of world-renowned scientists who have agreed to provide occasional input and to express their support of the goals that PeerJ is trying to achieve. This group includes individuals who have many decades of experience; have significant stature in their field; and who have received some of the most important awards in the academic world (for example, there are three Nobel Laureates in this group).
Together these two groups possess a depth of experience and considerable knowledge across the Biological and Medical Sciences. We will continue to add to both groups as we identify qualified and diverse academics who will collectively provide comprehensive coverage in the subject areas in which we expect submissions.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge that we are aware that the diversity of our Editorial Board (in gender, race and age) could be improved upon. Clearly this is not unique to PeerJ and is, in fact, an issue in the wider Academic community. With that said, we do intend to improve upon this and ultimately to build as balanced of an Editorial Board as possible.
If you are interested in joining this Board then please send your resume to editor@peerj.com
