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What is eLife?• A collaboration between funders and the research

community to improve research communication• A researcher-led digital publication for outstanding

work across the life sciences• A platform to maximize the reach and influence of

new research and to showcase new approaches for the presentation and assessment of research

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eLife – scope• From the most basic and theoretical work through to

translational, applied and clinical research. • Highly influential work that advances understanding,

opens new doors or has real-world impacts.

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eLife – goals1. To make publishing more efficient, providing

outstanding service through a swift, decisive and fair editorial process.

2. To exploit digital media in the presentation of research, increasing its utility for further research and broadening participation to the widest possible audience.

3. To drive open access by providing an outstanding new publishing option for ground-breaking research.

4. To catalyze change in research communication.

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How will eLife work?

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World-class backing

• Supported by three of the world’s leading research funders

• Effective research communication is a critical part of research

• Editorially, eLife is entirely independent of the funders

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Edited by researchers

Stylianos Antonarakis, University of Geneva Medical School (Switzerland)

Ian Baldwin, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (Germany)

Catherine Dulac, Harvard University (USA)Joe Goldstein, University of Texas Southwestern

Medical Center (USA)Tony Hunter, Salk Institute (USA)Prabhat Jha, University of Toronto (Canada)John Kuriyan, University of California at

Berkeley (USA)Richard Losick, Harvard University (USA)James Manley, Columbia University (USA)Eve Marder, Brandeis University (USA)

Michael Marletta, The Scripps Research Institute (USA)

Chris Ponting, University of Oxford (UK)Janet Rossant, University of Toronto (Canada)Charles Sawyers, Memorial Sloan Kettering

Cancer Center (USA)Tadatsugu Taniguchi, University of Tokyo

(Japan)K. VijayRaghavan, National Center for

Biological Sciences (India)Xiaodong Wang, National Institute of Biological

Sciences (China)Huda Zoghbi, Baylor College of Medicine (USA)

Editor-in-Chief - Randy Schekman, University of California at Berkeley (USA)Deputy Editor – Fiona Watt, King’s College London (UK)Deputy Editor – Detlef Weigel, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology (Germany)Senior Editors

A 175-member Board of Reviewing Editors

A new approach to the editorial process

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Cover letter and single

PDF

Swift triage process by

Senior Editors

Full submission

BRE member

plus external

reviewer(s)

Decision after peer

review

Revision assessed by

BRE member

Limit submissions entering peer review

Consultation amongst reviewers before decision

Single set of instructions – focused revision

Limit rounds of revision

Streamlined submission process prior to triage

Authors upload source files, including rich media and source data files where relevant

The end result> A constructive process> Reduced times from submission to acceptance

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• Interim findings may be published provided the conclusion is clear and the finding novel and of high importance

• International Board of Reviewing Editors includes outstanding junior and experienced investigators

• Fast turn-around for time-sensitive work• New and exciting findings will be published even if

another paper comes out during revision

Selective but not exclusive

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Born digital• No limits to article number• No (unnecessary) limits to article length• Use of rich media encouraged• Inclusion of underlying data• Supplementary information reserved for data/datasets• Added-value content to extend the reach of the work• Metrics and indicators of influence for all articles

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Born free• Results will be available for free immediately on

publication• Readers will have the right to use content without

restriction, providing full author attribution (Creative Commons-Attribution license)

• All content will also be deposited in PubMed Central

Initially - also free of publication fees

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eLife’s charter for authors• We commit to serving the interests of early-career

researchers.• We commit to delivering an outstanding editorial service

that is constructive, fair, swift, and decisive. • We commit to maximizing the influence of every author’s

work, through effective promotion, open access, and adding value.

• We commit to demonstrating the significance of each article through dynamic metrics and indicators of influence.

eLife will help advance careers

Join usRandy SchekmanEditor-in-chiefschekman@berkeley.edu

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