Editorial Associate, American Society of Nephrology
Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from, and what did you study? Where are you currently based?
I’m originally from Pennsylvania, and before coming to work in scholarly publishing, I was a public health researcher and experienced journals from the author side. I earned my BA and BS from the University of Rochester, and my MPH focused on environmental epidemiology at the George Washington University in DC, where I am currently based.
Describe your current role and organization. What are your main responsibilities? What type of organization do you work for?
In my role at the American Society of Nephrology, I work closely with the managing editors of three medical journals and one magazine, all centered around kidney health. I provide quality assurance and make sure that new manuscripts fit the requirements to be seen by the editors, assist in inviting reviewers and coordinating the review process, and transfer manuscripts from one journal to another if the paper is rejected. I also run the @asnpublications X and BlueSky accounts, which together have 32,000 followers. I post about new issues of the journals and magazines, new papers, and opportunities to get involved in ASN publications.
Publications are just one part of ASN, which is a professional society for physicians and scientists studying kidney disease, and I am lucky to learn from coworkers who focus on areas like advocacy and continuing education, as well as my team.
Share your journey in scholarly publishing. What was your first role in this field, and how did you land it? What path led you to your current position? What unexpected challenges have you faced?
Coming from public health research, I had the experience of being an author at journals before I ever considered working for them full-time. At the end of my MPH, I decided to try something new and try to learn a new perspective. As an undergraduate student, I was a managing editor at my university’s Journal of Undergraduate Research, and as I was doing some research, it became clear to me that returning to a role like that, as a professional path, felt right.
This is my first role in the field, and I found the job posting while searching professional society webpages. So many organizations are based in the DC area, and I knew I wanted to stay here and continue to work in a health-centered environment, so that helped me find the right opportunity.
What motivates you in your work? What keeps you passionate about your role in scholarly publishing?
I am motivated by supporting high-quality science that makes a healthier population. Working at ASN, I have learned a lot about kidney health – I even read a book about it in my first few weeks on the job. For me, this was essential to keeping my passion alive. Connecting with the science, the mechanisms, and the state of the field on kidney diseases helps me to keep my purpose clear and helps me best assist my editors, authors, and managing editors. I don’t think this is universal advice, but with my background, it was my path to feeling motivated day-to-day.
Coming from the public health research space, I would often hear colleagues complain about the scholarly publishing process. This also motivates me to provide the most efficient and high-quality experience for authors at ASN publications. To support high-quality science, I think it is vital to provide a high-quality experience for the authors.
What advice would you give to aspiring professionals in scholarly communications?
Reach out! I have found this field to be so open and friendly when it comes to networking calls and sharing different career paths. Meeting other professionals in scholarly publishing has helped me to learn and grow in my role.
