Editorial Guidelines

Editorial Board members are key to JoLS’s success. This versatile group will help establish and propel the quality and number of published articles. The editorial board at JoLS is expected to include the best post-doctoral trainees in their respective fields. By coordinating the peer review process in a timely and professional manner, the editorial board helps the EICs and the editorial office in the smooth working of the JoLS. Because this will be the first of its kind where the editorial board members will be post-doctoral trainees, the journal has categorized both the responsibilities and guidelines for the editors below. JoLS intends to recruit about 20 editors in each sub-field in life sciences.

Editorial Board Member Eligibility

Executive Editor: 

1. The editor is at least a 3rd year post-doctoral trainee and in good standing in his/her field.

2. The editor should have at least 5 total publications, with at least one first authored publication.

3. The editor has paid the JoLS membership fee of $100 to cover the operational costs

Editor: 

        1. Can be a recent postdoc with at least one primary author publication during PhD

        2. Demonstrated interest in taking part in various activities of the journal: peer-review, proofreading, editing, formatting. 

Editorial Guidelines

1. Upon receiving an article from editorial office, the editor will assign it to relevant reviewers (within one week) or review it (within three weeks) and send comments to authors in a timely fashion. On an average, each editor will be expected to handle at least 3-4 manuscripts per year.
2. Invite relevant authors (PIs and post-docs) to submit manuscripts to the journal. Each editor is expected to arrange for at least 2 new submissions per year. Once the invited manuscript is submitted to the EIC’s office, the manuscript will be forwarded to the relevant editorial board.
3. Editors must maintain confidentiality of the author’s data and results and respond to their queries in a timely fashion. Information or ideas gained through the peer review process cannot be used for personal research projects.
4. The final decision on a given manuscript must be run by the EIC’s office to address any future rebuttal from the authors. Editors are also expected to resolve any potential conflict with authors.
5. Each editor must solicit at least 1 MPS (mentor-post-doc spotlight) in an academic year.
6. Each editor must contribute at least 2 manuscripts in one academic year, be it one editorial and any one of a research or review article in an academic year.
7. Editors must determine the quality of reviews by the reviewer before forwarding to the authors to ensure professionalism.
8. If the editor is away or will be unavailable, he/she needs to inform the editorial office at least 2-3 days ahead of the said absence, so another editor can be requested for assistance in handling a manuscript.