“Behind the Scenes of Scientific Publishing” with Dr. Nonia Pariente, Editor-in-Chief of PLOS Biology

Many of our FAILSAFE Medical Mycology Members had expressed an interest in learning how to increase their chances of publishing in journals. In response, we were delighted to host a special seminar featuring Dr. Nonia Pariente, Editor-in-Chief of PLOS Biology, via Zoom:

Behind the Scenes of Scientific Publishing
Monday, 16 June | 14:30–15:30 (UK time)
Hosted as part of the University of Exeter Visiting Speaker Seminar Series

During the session, Dr. Pariente provided an insightful overview of the processes that take place in a scientific journal, from submission of a study to the final decision—whether acceptance or rejection. She explained how editors make decisions at every stage, how reviewers are selected and what is expected of them, and offered practical advice for navigating the process as an author. Attendees also received tips on writing manuscripts (including dos and don’ts for titles and abstracts), cover letters, responses to reviewers, presubmission enquiries, and appeals.

Whether participants were seasoned researchers or just starting out, the seminar offered valuable guidance to help them succeed in scientific publishing.

Biography

Nonia received a degree in Biochemistry and a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Autonoma University of Madrid, the latter for studies on RNA virus evolution and new antiviral strategies in the lab of Esteban Domingo. Nonia then moved to UCLA for postdoctoral research, where she focused on developing lentiviral vectors for gene therapy in Irvin Chen’s laboratory. In 2007, Nonia joined the EMBO reports editorial team and over 8 years, held various editorial roles in which she was responsible for a broad range of topics within molecular and cell biology. In 2015, Nonia joined the launch team of Nature Microbiology and, after handling microbiology at Nature for a year, became Chief Editor of Nature Microbiology in 2019. In March 2020, Nonia joined PLOS Biology as Editor-in-Chief.