ASAPbio hosts a global community and we regularly organize online events and activities for audiences across the world. At the same time, we recognize that in-person interactions can be invaluable for developing new relationships and the deeper engagement needed for change in science communication. To support and amplify the work that community members do in advocating preprints in their local groups, this year we are piloting a new initiative focusing on in-person activities: the ASAPbio Local Hubs.
The ASAPbio Local Hubs will seek to raise awareness about preprints in different regions and to engage with the local community of researchers and those involved in science communication. For this pilot, we have selected three areas, taking into consideration both geographical diversity and where we feel that further preprint outreach would be particularly valuable. In 2023, we will develop ASAPbio Local Hubs in the following regions: Lisbon (Portugal), São Paulo (Brazil) and Pretoria (South Africa).
ASAPbio Community Leads
Each of the Local Hubs will be driven by an ASAPbio Community Lead, one of our community members who will coordinate local events, gatherings or other activities about preprints in their area. We are pleased to have the following Community Leads driving this initiative:
Mafalda Pimentel, Community Lead for Lisbon: Mafalda is postdoctoral researcher at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência. She is passionate about science and publishing, is involved with preLights, and as part of her tenure as 2020 Fellow, was one of the community members that spearheaded the creation of our preprint infographics.
João Victor Cabral Costa, Community Lead for São Paulo: João Victor recently completed his PhD and joined JoVE as a Research & Education Specialist. He is a 2022 Fellow and as a community member, he has participated in an ASAPbio webinar about preprints and early-career researchers, and contributed to the ASAPbio events toolkit.
Thabiso Motaung, Community Lead for Pretoria: Thabiso is a Lecturer at the University of Pretoria. He has been involved with preprints for several years, Thabiso is a 2020 ASAPbio Fellow and currently serves on the ASAPbio Board of Directors.
We are delighted to have Mafalda, João Victor and Thabiso in these roles and look forward to supporting their different local activities.
Upcoming events
We are pleased to share details of two upcoming events at these Local Hubs. If you are in São Paulo or Lisbon, do not miss the chance to learn more about preprints and connect with others in the community at these events:
| Preprints roundtable ‘Preprints na (r)evolução do sistema de publicação: mitos, fatos e contextos’ [Preprints in the (r)evolution of the publishing system: myths, facts, and contexts] with Dr Alicia J. Kowaltowski and Dr João Victor Cabral-Costa – as part of the Graduate Students Symposium on March 9, 4pm BRT at the Biochemistry Department, Chemistry Institute, University of São Paulo |
| Preprints seminar at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (Democritus room) – April 12 |
Join our Local Hubs!
Are you a researcher or professional in science communication based in Lisbon, São Paulo, or Pretoria? We invite you to join our ASAPbio Local Hubs! Please complete this brief form and our Community Leads will be in touch with further details and updates on upcoming activities in your area.
We also welcome suggestions for other areas where ASAPbio could consider creating Local Hubs in the future. If you are interested in developing this in your regions, please do reach out!
