Journal of Postdoctoral Research: an avenue for postdocs to publish their science

As scientists, we need to become good at critiquing our own and our peers’ research. Analyzing and commenting on research outcomes promotes our own ability to interpret data and realize all its caveats. Writing about our research often gives us a chance to take a step back and look at the big picture. We can search the literature and put our data in perspective with existing theories to understand how our results will move the field forward. Being able to write and communicate the importance of our work in the larger context helps us refine our ideas and get grant funding.

To do all this, as postdoctoral researchers, we require an avenue to discuss science and review research conducted by our peers. That’s just what the Journal of Postdoctoral Research offers: a platform to express our views on research, referee fellow postdocs’ interpretation of their data, and offer constructive criticism.

Postdoc Journal is a professional, peer-reviewed, open access international publication with a multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approach, publishing research findings in all disciplines. The journal has been publishing postdoctoral work since 2013 and aims to be a face of postdoctoral research. The journal accepts articles in a variety of formats: original research articles, reviews, commentaries, methodologies, perspectives/opinion pieces, progress articles, and research highlights (discussing a recent research article published in another journal). In addition, Editor-in-Chief Nimrat Chatterjee has started a new article format called “Mentor-Postdoc Spotlights” to highlight the research and careers of accomplished mentor-postdoc duos. Every article submitted goes through a rigorous peer-review process before acceptance.

Postdoc Journal provides an opportunity for postdocs to independently publish their research and discuss their own views and suggestions within the scientific community. Postdocs can also invite their mentors to be co-authors. Postdoctoral researchers who acknowledge their NIH funding in their Postdoc Journal articles can get their manuscript indexed in Pubmed.

The journal offers many advantages: Researchers are not limited to a specific field of study as the journal publishes articles in varied fields of science. The average time from paper submission to acceptance after peer review is only six weeks. The journal currently publishes articles on a bi-monthly basis with each edition set to release on the 20th of the month. The journal, which has limited funding, is not only open access but also doesn’t have submission fees. In fact, to cover the basic operational costs, the journal appreciates monetary contributions from researchers. All these benefits can prove advantageous to postdoctoral researchers wanting to gain practice in scientific writing.

The journal recognizes accomplished postdocs with Postdoc of the Month awards, and a Postdoc of the Year is selected from among these winners to receive a monetary reward sponsored by Addgene. Applicants are judged on the basis of their research publications, awards, fellowships, grants or patents received, and on their contributions to the betterment of the postdoctoral/scientific community. Postdoc Journal provides an excellent and unique opportunity for postdocs to be recognized for their hard work and scientific accomplishments on a global platform.

Postdoc Journal constantly seeks accomplished postdocs to join its editorial team. Interested postdocs can register their profile or write directly to Editor-in-Chief@PostdocJournal.com. To join the editorial team, postdoctoral applicants should contribute articles regularly, be involved in peer review, and also participate in spreading awareness about the journal. Once accepted on the team, researchers can learn the publication process and partake in writing commentaries or research highlight articles on ground-breaking discoveries. As editors commenting on others’ articles, researchers are able to discuss the impact and caveats of a study to a broad readership. They can help steer research in a field as well as improve their science communication skills.

“The eventual goal of Postdoc Journal is to conduct exclusive international conferences to showcase postdoctoral work, recognize accomplished postdocs with monetary rewards, and establish research grants,” says co-founder Partha Ramasastry. With this noble goal, the team at Postdoc Journal is striving to recognize postdoctoral work on an international scale. A diligent postdoc is responsible for many important discoveries and this journal is helping them spread their science and promote their individuality. I encourage all postdocs to use this avenue to their benefit.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are the views of the author(s) and do not represent the official policy or position of ASCB.

About the Author:


Sushama is doing her postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Hongtao Yu at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas TX. She obtained her PhD from the laboratory of Dr. Gary J Gorbsky at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF), Oklahoma city, OK. She is interested in understanding the mechanisms that regulate mitotic progression in mammalian cell lines. She can be reached by email at sushama.sivakumar@utsouthwestern.edu.