HHMI, the Max Planck Society, and the Wellcome Trust are a step closer to launching a top-tier journal with the recent announcement of the publication’s editorial team and name.
The open-access research journal will be called “eLife,” reflecting its coverage of a full range of life and biomedical sciences, from the most fundamental science to translational, applied, and clinical research.
eLife will aim to develop an unparalleled editorial service for authors, designed and run by an outstanding team of active researchers, led by editor-in-chief and HHMI investigator Randy Schekman. Schekman is joined at the helm of eLife by managing executive editor Mark N. Patterson, most recently director of publishing at the Public Library of Science.
“Mark has enormous experience with online publications and in open-access publishing,” says Schekman. “He played a fundamental role in helping to launch the Public Library of Science and in establishing it as a pioneer of open access and innovative scholarly publishing in the life sciences.”
Two deputy editors have joined the leadership team—Fiona Watt, at the University of Cambridge, UK, and Detlef Weigel, from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tubingen, Germany.
The team has selected 17 active and prominent scientists to serve as senior editors, and up to five more will be added in the coming months. About 150 additional scientists will complete the roster as members of a board of reviewing editors.
The announcement to support the new online journal was made by the three founding scientific organizations in June 2011. The journal is expected to publish its first issue in late 2012.
