Life Science Editors Foundation

Our goal is to accelerate equity, inclusion, diversity and a broad sense of belonging in the scientific community. Everyone deserves the opportunity to succeed. We want to change the scientific culture so that it supports, invests in and commits to the continuous career development of scientists from all walks of life.

Dedicated and Tailored Support: Our team of volunteers works directly with scientists on a variety of submissions (manuscripts, grant proposals, job applications etc) to make them more compelling and boost your productivity. In the process, we teach them new skills.

Our world-class team of PhDs has extensive experience working at the top scientific journals and institutes. We apply this unique expertise and perspective to help researchers reach their full potential.

Our monthly Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) awards provide editorial support, strategic advice, and constructive feedback from one of our top-flight volunteers. Graduate student, postdocs, or tenure-track/early career principal investigators (within seven years of starting their own research group excluding career breaks) who have a manuscript or grant in completed draft form ready for editing in any area of experimental biology are eligible to apply. https://lifescienceeditors.org/apply/

These awards are offered to scientists facing unfair obstacles to career progression, including but not limited to people from historically underrepresented races or ethnic groups, people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people with disabilities, women, primary caregivers, people who identify as LGBTQ+, and people in a low or lower middle income country.

Skill Development: We provide resources, workshops, and seminars on grant and manuscript writing and publishing. We have also developed a preeminent Editor Training Program for those interested in pursuing a career in scientific editing and publishing.

Network Expansion: Through our support and training activities, we connect you directly to our team of volunteers who have successfully navigated diverse career trajectories within academic research, industry, education, technical writing, publishing, and communication. This effort will expand circles and unite diverse groups within the scientific community.

We have 32 volunteers on our board and team to help us achieve our goals. Our volunteers include former journal editors (including the editors-in-chief of prestigious scientific publications), current journal editors (including the editor-in-chief of Cell), grant specialists, researchers, and academics. Our team represents diverse demographics, which allows us to meet the needs of equally diverse researchers. Please see https://lifescienceeditors.org/who-we-are/

We started the JEDI awards in February 2021. Since then, we have worked with over 30 JEDI awardees from 25 institutes and 10 countries around the world. Our volunteers have invested over 230 hours, equivalent to more than $29,000 USD, to help JEDI awardees achieve their goals. More information on our Success Stories can be found here: https://lifescienceeditors.org/success-stories/