ASAPbio is seeking two new members for our Board of Directors. With these openings, we aim to 1) improve the racial and ethnic diversity of our board, and 2) include the voice of research trainees, such as graduate students and postdocs. We are also interested in increasing representation from outside the US and beyond cell and molecular biology to include other life science fields.
Both early career researchers and members of minoritized groups hold important, unique perspectives on scholarly communication. For example, transparent and open peer review, concerns about scooping, and publishing biases may be experienced differently by these individuals. We’re seeking vocal people to round out deficits in our current board and help us make productive and equitable decisions about the work we do to make scientific publishing more rapid, open, and transparent.
About ASAPbio
ASAPbio (Accelerating Science and Publication in biology) is a scientist-driven nonprofit working to promote innovation and transparency in life sciences communication through the use of preprints and open peer review.
We envision a life sciences communication ecosystem where all papers and other outputs are shared rapidly and without restrictions on access or reuse, and open and constructive exchanges take place on research products at all stages.
ASAPbio seeks to embody the following values and priorities through our projects, activities, and community work:
- Focus on researchers
- Advancing scientific discovery
- Equity, inclusion, and accessibility
- Respect and empathy
- Collaboration and transparency
- Experimentation and adaptation to evidence-based best practice
Presently, we’re working toward our goals by:
- Convening meetings and workshops to discuss pressing issues (most recently, a design sprint to encourage preprint feedback and a workshop on preprints in the media)
- Community building through discussion groups and a fellows program to empower researchers to catalyze conversations about preprints
- Resource development, such as preprint infographics and a directory of preprint servers
- Advocacy for more open practices, such as depositing data with preprints and journal adoption of transparent peer review
- Experimentation via Review Commons, a collaboration with EMBO
Expectations for Board Members
Board members are involved in strategic planning, participate in decision-making, and engage in community relations to help connect ASAPbio to contacts who can help us achieve our mission of accelerating the open communication of life sciences research.
The board meets 4 times per year via Zoom for approximately 2 hours; attendance at 3 out of 4 of these meetings is required. No travel is required.
The board votes by email throughout the year and communicates through email and Slack. We expect all board members to join one or more committees and devote >2 hours per month to ASAPbio activities.
We do not have any expectations of financial contributions, nor are board members compensated.
How to apply
The application consists of several short-answer questions. Applications will close on March 15, 2021, and we expect to inform candidates of the outcome by May 15, 2021.
