Hello from Alex (reprise)

About 6.5 years ago now, I wrote my first post for the Node, ‘Hello from Alex‘, introducing myself as a new Reviews Editor for Development. I was thrilled by the opportunity to stay in touch with the science I first came across at university and with which I instantly fell in love. In the years that followed, I’ve enjoyed helping authors publish their review-type articles, interviewing leaders of the field from all career stages and meeting the community at conferences. Six years is a relatively short time, but I’ve seen single-cell sequencing go from state-of-the-art technology to an almost routine approach, an explosion in the development of stem cell-based systems and a renaissance of fundamental aspects of biology, such as metabolism, genetics and mechanics, interrogated from new perspectives and with new tools. My hairline may have receded over these years, but my love for developmental biology, and indeed for the journal, has only grown. It’s been a journey of continuous learning and constant discovery where I’ve been able to get to grips with the wonderful world of plant biology, finally understand the complex anatomy of an early mammalian embryo and even grasp some mathematics.

It was – is – the perfect job and although I thought that, one day, I might attempt the leap to Executive Editor, I was fully prepared to wait another 20 years for the chance. So, when it was announced that Development’s previous Executive Editor, Katherine Brown, was moving on to a new post within The Company of Biologists, it came as a surprise. For over a decade, Katherine has been a pillar in the colosseum that is our community and the centre pole in the tent that is Development. It is, indeed, the end of an era. As much as I loved being a Reviews Editor, I’ve learned that personal and professional growth can only come through change and challenge – by venturing from the comfortable. I had hestitations about whether I was ready, but I’m fortunate in that, throughout my career (in addition to the privileges afforded to me as a cis white man), I’ve had supervisors and mentors like Katherine willing to take a risk with me, and I’ve tried my best to live up to that potential. I can’t hope to emulate Katherine, nor will I try, but the best news for me is that, as the Publishing Director at the Company, she will remain a source of guidance, expertise and superhuman capability.

What does this change mean for the journal? In the short term, my focus will be on keeping business as usual during this transition and supporting our excellent team of academic Editors in handling your papers. Real change, in whatever form that might be, occurs on a longer timescale. I bring with me a few ideas (and one or two of those, I hope, are actually sensible), but the main purpose of my role is to bring about the vision of James Briscoe, Editor-in-Chief; I’ve quoted below an article published earlier this year about the history of Development in which James talks about the future.

Over the next few years, we can expect continued change in the business models supporting scientific publishing, whether this is in new forms of OA or further innovation in publishing pathways. We are committed to being as inclusive as possible and giving all authors, wherever you are in the world, options that allow you to publish in Development. Preprints present new ways to enhance scientific communication and new approaches to peer review, and we will continue to develop new ways to help researchers navigate and use the preprint literature effectively. Over the next few years, we also expect to see innovative use of artificial intelligence in scientific publishing, complementing human experts. These technologies are emerging as valuable tools for information and literature discovery, manuscript processing, and journal production, offering possibilities to improve scientific publishing while maintaining rigorous standards.

Eve 2025

Development has a long-held reputation for being respected and trusted, but the journal has not rested on its laurels. The journal has regularly introduced practices and polices to make publication easier and more transparent for authors, such as format-free submission, cross-referee commenting and publishing referee reports. It is my plan to continue these efforts, to turn avid readers of Development into frequent authors and to tackle the misconception that publishing in Development is ‘hard’. I’ve been overwhelmed by the response from the community about my appointment, and it’s a priority of mine to meet even more of you. I look forward to hearing your ideas, suggestions, queries and indeed your grievances so that the journal might continue to develop.

Finally, if you love developmental and stem cell biology, wish to remain in the community but not in the lab, and want to join our new, enthusiastic and supportive team on this new journey, we are currently recruiting a Community Manager for the Node.

(3 votes)

Loading...