Editors in UK Make Science More Accessible

Although Science has published international research for decades, the office in Cambridge has helped make the journal more accessible globally, according to Stella Hurtley, a senior editor who has been with the journal for eight years. For instance, while much communication is done electronically, there's nothing better than dialing a call to an office that's within your own time zone. The time European authors wait for a rejection letter has decreased to within two weeks as opposed to what may seem like eternity, when letters are mailed from North America, adds Hurtley, who edits papers on cell biology. (Rejections are 90% more common than acceptance letters.) On both ends the geography is "only an advantage," she says.

Science International Editorial Staff: Standing - Peter Stern, Caroline Ash, Andrew Sugden, Jenny Parker, Lara Crowe, Andrea Gould; Sitting - Ian Osborne, Stephen Simpson, and Stella Hurtley

Editors can now more easily attend conferences and meetings based in Europe and meet researchers, according to the Cambridge editorial team. Fellow editors from the United States also pass through their office all the time and do work. "The DC office is more aware of non-U.S. potential," says senior supervisory editor Andrew Sugden.

To stay on top of emerging scientific research in immunology, in Europe and elsewhere, associate editor Stephen Simpson makes lab visits and goes to meetings and conferences, whether exclusively or on the side during a vacation. "It's fun sometimes sitting in a lunchroom around students who are grilling you on what you do and how does it work," Simpson says. "I love talking to postdocs and students because they don't hold back."

—Lisa Onaga

17 June 2002

For more information, read related articles:

• Growing Presence in Europe for Science, AAAS
• Helping Young Scientists Get Started: Science's Next Wave
• Covering the Latest Scientific News—With a European Twist
• Promoting Science and AAAS from a Global Perspective