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Call for papers - Early career researchers

Guest Editors:
Kim Chisholm: University of Nottingham, UK
Mattéa Finelli: University of Nottingham, UK
Tian Li: Fourth Military Medical University, China

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 18 December 2023


BMC Neuroscience is calling for submissions to our Collection focusing on Early Career Researchers in neuroscience. All topics in neuroscience will be considered, from cellular and molecular neuroscience, to behavioral studies in humans and nonhuman animals. This Collection aims to provide a platform for early-career researchers to showcase their work and contribute to the advancement of the field. We aim to highlight the importance of early-career researchers in shaping the future of neuroscience, and to promote diversity and inclusion in the neuroscience research landscape.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Dr Kim Chisholm: University of Nottingham, UK

Dr Chisholm completed her PhD at University College London, with Prof Kenneth Smith, in the field of neuroinflammation, developing ways to assess mitochondrial function in conditions of systemic and local inflammation. She then moved to King’s and into the field of pain and sensation as a postdoc in the lab of the late Prof Stephen McMahon. Here she helped pioneer the use of in vivo microscopy as a way to assess changes in neuronal circuits during conditions of chronic pain. She has now set up a lab in the University of Nottingham focusing on spinal cord circuitry and its role in the development of persistent pain. 
 

Dr Mattéa Finelli: University of Nottingham, UK

After receiving a MSc in Bioengineering (SupAgro) and a MRes in Biomedical Research (Imperial College), Dr Finelli completed her DPhil in neurosciences at the University of Oxford. She did her postdoctoral training at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and at the University of Oxford. Dr Finelli joined the University of Nottingham as an Anne McLaren Fellow in January 2020 where she started her independent research group. Dr Finelli was promoted to an Assistant Professor position in January 2023. More information on the Finelli group can be found at https://mattea-finelli-lab.com.
 

Dr Tian Li: Fourth Military Medical University, China

Tian Li received his medical degree from the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, China. Dr Li has abundant experience in chronic non-communicable diseases, predominantly cardio-cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs). Evidence-based medicine and pharmacology in chronic non-communicable diseases are his primary expertise. Dr Li also serves as an Associate Editor of BMC Neuroscience.

About the collection

BMC Neuroscience is calling for submissions to our Collection focusing on Early Career Researchers in neuroscience. 

Our understanding of brain and nervous system function is constantly evolving, thanks in no small part to the innovative research and unique perspectives shared by early-career neuroscientists. This Collection of BMC Neuroscience aims to continue advancing our understanding of the field by highlighting and showcasing the work of early-career researchers. All topics in neuroscience will be considered, from cellular and molecular neuroscience, to behavioral studies in humans and nonhuman animals. This Collection aims to provide a platform for early-career researchers to showcase their work and contribute to the advancement of the field. We aim to highlight the importance of early-career researchers in shaping the future of neuroscience, and to promote diversity and inclusion in the neuroscience research landscape.

Contributions from early-career neuroscientists, from research fellows to graduate students and Assistant Professors, are welcomed. Submitting researchers must have completed their first terminal degree no more than ten years ago to be eligible for inclusion, and should be listed as the lead author on their contributions. 

Springer Nature offers OA funding assistance to qualifying authors, and over 500 institutions have partnered with us to help authors maximize their research funding. Check to see if your university or lab is one such institution by reviewing the full list here. For further assistance with APC related concerns, please review our OA Funding FAQ. 
 

Image credit: Illustration of the medulla oblongata of a trout, sketched by the "father of modern neuroscience," Santiago Ramón y Cajal (© Herederos de Santiago Ramón y Cajal).

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of Research Articles, Data Notes, Case Reports, Study Protocols, and Database Articles. Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have read our submission guidelines. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Early Career Researchers" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.