Empowering the Next Generation: The Impact of an Early Career Board on Peer Review at Microbiology Spectrum

Finding qualified and willing peer reviewers is a pain-point for many journals. With the rise of submissions in recent years, many established reviewers are feeling overwhelmed and overburdened. One potential solution is to encourage the involvement of early career professionals in the peer review process.

In April 2022, Microbiology Spectrum launched a new program for early career microbiologists from across the globe to participate in the journal via a new role: the Reviewing Editor. The Reviewing Editor role is distinct from the Editor role in that while Editors choose peer reviewers and make decisions on papers, the Reviewing Editors serve as expert reviewers for 1-2 papers per month (a maximum of 24 per year) and receive feedback on their reviews. Reviewing Editors will advance to the Editor role on the basis of their performance and subject area expertise.

This poster will share the preliminary findings from the first full year of the Reviewing Editor program. Mainly, the performance of the Reviewing Editors against ad hoc reviewers, as well as the performance of the first cohort promoted to the Editor role.