Peer Review to PR: How peer review supports sound science reporting

What the event covered

F1000 and Taylor & Francis held a discussion with global experts to explore how peer review supports the best science reporting with an international line up of leading researchers and science journalists.

This ‘in-conversation’ event discussed the process of peer review (both open and closed) and how this helps provide the best science, both for further research and for the public understanding of science and science communication.

The discussion drew upon the panels’ own experience of being peer reviewed and having their research reported in the media, as well as peer reviewing themselves. From the other side, science journalists shared their experience of working with researchers, pre-prints and peer reviewed papers, and how this relates to the public understanding of science.

In an open conversation, peers across science and journalism brought their diverse experience and expertise to the conversation, illustrating how scientists and science journalists work collectively to ensure the integrity of science and to bring science that matters to public attention.

Exploring how peer review feeds into and supports good science journalism and communication, there was also an opportunity for audience questions in a supportive cross-fertilization of ideas and insight.

Find out more about this event.

About the speakers

Timandra Harkness is a writer, broadcaster and presenter. She is a regular on BBC Radio, writing and presenting BBC Radio 4’s FutureProofing and other series, including How To Disagree, Steelmanning and Political School. Timandra has chaired and spoken at public events for clients including Cheltenham Science Festival, the Royal Society, the British Council and more. In addition to this, Timandra has also written for many publications e.g., the Telegraph, The Guardian and Sunday Times. Her book Big Data: does size matter? published by Bloomsbury Sigma in 2016, came out in an updated paperback edition.

Johann-Mattis List an Open Research Europe Gateway Advisor, an open research publishing venue in partnership with the European Commission. He studied Comparative Linguistics, Russian Philology, and Sinology at HU and FU Berlin, wrote his dissertation at the HHU Düsseldorf in General Linguistics and his habilitation at FSU Jena in Comparative Linguistics.

Corey S. Powell is an award-winning science writer, editor, and all-around science communicator. In 2022, he co-founded OpenMind magazine, a forum for popular but serious analysis of science controversies and misinformation. He has collaborated with Bill Nye on a podcast, Science Rules; on a series of science books; and on two TV series, Bill Nye Saves the World and The End is Nye. He was the editor in chief of Discover and American Scientist, where he remains a frequent guest editor; he was also science editor at Aeon and a member of the Board of Editors at Scientific American. His writing appears in publications including The Wall Street Journal, Nautilus, Popular Science, and Technology Review.

Dr. Angeles Salles (B.S. PhD, Post-doc John Hopkins University) is an Assistant Professor at the university of Illinois at Chicago. Her lab focuses on the neurobiology of communication and social behavior in bats. Dr Salles studied Biology at the University of Buenos Aires, in Argentina, where she also studied for her PhD, investigating the molecular mechanisms of learning and memory in mice and crabs. Afterwards, Dr. Salles pursued her postdoctoral work at Cynthia Moss’s lab at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Salles has published over twenty scientific papers, has been a guest editor for IBRO’s journal Neuroscience Reports and is currently part of the advisory committee for the Neuroethology Gateway of the Molecular Psychology Platform from F1000.

Simon Wesson is the Press & Media Relations Manager at Taylor & Francis where he leads the journal press team, searching for the best peer-reviewed research to share with the media. He has been immersed in the world of communicating research to the press for over a decade. His career began as a journalist, where he covered local news for five years. Following this he joined the press office at the University of Bedfordshire, then the University of Bath, before moving into the media team at the UK’s largest funder of economic, social, behavioural and human data science – the Economic and Social Research Council.

Chair: Martin Wilson is the Head of Content for Taylor & Francis and is the Chair of the discussion panel. He currently oversees the development of first-class content, playing a vital role in publicizing world-class research. Martin also previously worked for the BBC, where he was responsible for producing documentaries on science, arts, and current affairs. This included an award-winning series titled “Alternative Medicine: The Evidence”. 

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