Jonny Coates has been the Associate Director at ASAPbio since 2023. His scientific interests have always been within immune cell biology and microscopy. However, in 2019 he began his journey into the world of preprints and metascience. First becoming a prelighter and member of the ASAPbio community before developing a research program and writing opinion pieces around the use of preprints. He now hosts the Preprints in Motion podcast focused on highlighting the benefits of preprints for early career researchers and sits on the scientific advisory board of Europe PMC. He is a strong advocate for change within research culture, believing that the lynchpin for this change lies with changing the publishing system. He is very excited to jump into preprints full time and drive forward the adoption of such an important advancement.
Jonny was also a fellow in 2020:
What is your current role? Tell us a bit about your line of research
I am currently a postdoc at the William Harvey Research Institute (Queen Mary University of London, UK) in the lab of Mathieu Voisin. My current research focusses on neutrophil responses to ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI), neutrophil subtypes, T-cells and a heavy dose of microscopy. I also have independent interests in meta-research (how we do science), open-access and early career researcher (ECR) development and training. I also try to promote a healthier working environment for researchers. I’m very lucky to be able to combine my (sometimes very varied) interests in my current projects and to push myself forward learning new things.
What are you excited about in science communication?
The newer generation of scientists are the breath of fresh air that science is really in need of. We’re seeing a much greater focus on accessibility, inclusion and fairness. I strongly believe that science should be accessible and open to all and that part of my job as a scientist is to promote and encourage these practices. There has been a shift in recent years in terms of the general public taking a much greater interest in science and this is hugely exciting; though we need to ensure that we answer that interest with accessible and responsible communication. Most of all, I’m excited to share that wonderful feeling of discovering something new and getting to share that with the world.
Why did you choose to participate in the ASAPbio Fellows program?
I wanted to get a deeper understanding of the open-science landscape and how I can best promote these values in my career and with colleagues. Having developed collaborations and worked with like-minded scientists as part of my work with preLights, I was excited to dive into doing something similar but at a bigger scale.
Ask me about…
I like to think I slightly buck the trend of “stereotypical” scientist. I love adrenaline-fueled adventures (skydiving, or my latest plan – a wingwalk), I currently seem to be collecting guitars (5 and counting) and will be getting another 3 tattoos in the coming months. If you want to talk about trials and tribulations of an academic career and how I think we can fix this then I’m your guy. I also love dogs, so if you want to talk about anything that involves pictures of cute dogs you have my full attention!