ASAPbio newsletter volume 33 

The ASAPbio Fellow program 2021 is open for applications

The 2021 cohort of the ASAPbio Fellow program is now open for applications! The program runs for six months and provides participants with tools and skills to drive discussions about the productive use of preprints in the life sciences. Participants can also develop their own preprint initiative and will have opportunities to interact with others interested in science communication. 

Applications to the Fellow program are open until March 5. You can find additional information on the ASAPbio Fellow program Handbook, or email Iratxe if you would like to find out more.

Positions open in ASAPbio Board of Directors

We are seeking applications for two positions in our Board of Directors. We are looking to improve the racial and ethnic diversity of the board and to include the voice of research trainees, such as graduate students and postdocs.

You can read more about the roles and the application process at our blog post. Applications will close on March 15, and we expect to inform candidates of the outcome by May 15, 2021.

Community Action Group

As we announced at the January Community Call, we are setting up a Community Action Group within the ASAPbio Community. This group will support those looking to take action about preprints within their institution or community, by brainstorming ideas for initiatives, creating resources and acting as a forum for advice and to collate success stories and inspiration. 

The Group is chaired by the ASAPbio Fellows Sarah Stryeck and Marco Fumasoni and will start activities shortly, with a schedule of meetings every two months. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Iratxe via Slack or email.

'Pivotal Year for Preprints’ - The piece in Inside Higher Ed discusses the growth of preprints during 2020 (’a banner year for preprints’) with a particular focus on medical preprints.

'The development of preprints during the COVID‐19 pandemic’ - The editorial in Journal of Internal Medicine discusses the role of preprints and other publication trends during the COVID-19 pandemic.

'How the pandemic changed editorial peer review – and why we should wonder whether that’s desirable’ - Serge Horbach discusses how peer review adjusted for content related to COVID-19 and asks whether the changes will be permanent, among other questions about the future direction of peer review.

ASAPbio will participate in

Iratxe will co-facilitate the workshop ‘The Many Shapes of Peer Review: How can we maximise value and visibility of peer review beyond the journal?’ during the Researcher to Reader conference, February 23-24. 

Jessica will participate in a panel entitled 'Open Science in a Time of Global Crises' at the Open Science Conference on February 19.

Other events

NISO Plus 2021 will be taking place on February 22-25, the program includes a couple of sessions about preprints.