The start of a new year is often a time to reflect and take stock. As researchers (and editors) we are usually so involved in the day-to-day challenges of our jobs that we lose sight of the bigger picture. But stepping back, it is extraordinary to see how much has changed over the last few years in scientific publishing and in the journals we are all familiar with. New business models, innovations in peer review and the rise of preprints are all having a huge impact, and the rise of Artificial Intelligence seems likely to revolutionise the research and publishing ecosystems (for good and bad) in ways we are only beginning to imagine. Of course, the primary role of journals continues to be to publish research findings and disseminate their conclusions, and broader developments in the field, to the wider scientific community. But the impact of journals like Development (and its sister journals at The Company of Biologists) extends further. By organising conferences and workshops, we help connect researchers and enable new collaborations. By awarding travelling fellowships and promoting the next generation of researchers, we support the next wave of innovation. By hosting and managing forums such as the Node, preLights and Focal Plane, we facilitate dialogue and the exchange of ideas and resources. These community-building efforts are possible only because we are a not-for-profit journal run by scientists for scientists. But, like all journals, we rely on our authors and the papers you send us. Without authors there would be no journal at all, and we couldn't support the field in the ways that we do. Sometimes with all the demands and pressures on us, we lose sight of this broader perspective, and our choice of journal is driven by factors such as what we think would impress others, or where we think we might get an ‘easy ride’. However, where you choose to send your paper is not a neutral decision: publishing is political. By choosing to send your next paper to Development you are demonstrating your support for a not-for-profit scientist-led journal, and you are signifying your commitment to the field and to the next generation of researchers. It is only with your backing that we can continue supporting discovery in developmental and stem cell biology for years to come. So as you plan your 2024 submissions, we ask you to choose Development.
As always, your papers will be handled by one of our academic editors and this year sees a couple of changes. Two of our editors are stepping down. Patrick Tam, after 17 years, is hanging up his editorial hat. Patrick has been one of our longest serving editors and has handled almost 1200 papers in his time. His contribution to the journal has been substantial. The breadth and depth of his knowledge across wide areas of developmental biology will be deeply missed. For the last few years, Patrick has also handled applications for our Travelling Fellowships, funding scientific exchange between developmental and stem cell biology labs. Maria Elena Torres-Padilla is also departing her editorial role. Although not the veteran that Patrick is, Maria Elena has also been a greatly valued and important member of our editorial team, bringing her expertise in early mammalian development and stem cell biology to the journal. We are grateful for both Patrick's and Maria Elena's support for Development over the years and wish them every success in the future.
We are pleased to welcome two new Academic Editors. Kat Hadjantonakis is joining us. She holds the Alfred P. Sloan Chair in the Developmental Biology Program at the Sloan Kettering Institute in New York, USA. Her research focusses on the early mammalian development and the formation of tissues during gastrulation. She is known for her multidisciplinary approaches that range from cutting-edge quantitative methods in light microscopy to single-cell genomics. In addition, Peter Rugg-Gunn is coming onboard. Peter is a group leader at the Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK, and is interested in understanding how the epigenome is established during embryo development and stem cell differentiation. His lab has experience in molecular and cellular approaches using human pluripotent stem cells and stem cell-based embryo models (blastoids and gastruloids), as well as human embryos. Please join us in welcoming Kat and Peter to Development. We hope you share our excitement for them joining the team.
Last year also saw the start of Development's Pathway to Independence (PI) programme (Briscoe and Brown, 2022). We all recognise that finding a job in academia and setting up a lab are major challenges for which many postdocs feel underprepared. We established the PI programme with this in mind. It provides mentorship, training and networking opportunities to a group of postdocs about to apply for academic positions. It was a pleasure to meet the first cohort of fellows in October and hear their stories. You can read more about them on our website, and also find out more about the aims of the programme and the application and selection process. It was also satisfying to hear how the programme had helped them. One commented, ‘The programme has been a game changer for me as I search for an independent position, giving me unprecedented visibility in the community as well as amazing training that will help me in my transition to being a PI.’ We have now opened our second call for applications to this programme. We are keen to see applications from all corners of the world and from all areas of developmental and stem cell biology. If you know anyone that might benefit from the programme, please let them know about it. The application procedure is straightforward, and all details can be found on The Company of Biologists' grants portal. We look forward to reading the applications in the coming months and we will keep readers updated with the progress of both the first and second cohorts of PI fellows during the year.
Last year Development's meeting was on ‘Unconventional and Emerging Experimental Organisms in Cell and Developmental Biology’. Organised by Swathi Arur, Gautam Dey, Cassandra Extavour and us, the meeting brought together researchers with expertise in a wide range of less studied organisms, and allowed presenters to share their knowledge and exchange technical approaches. It had an exciting line up of speakers covering all corners of life on earth, illustrating the diversity of life that is out there. There was an online session with talks from Kim Cooper and Ehab Abouheif, and a discussion on the importance of studying unconventional organisms in the light of climate change and biodiversity challenges. A recording of the session is available.
The meeting highlighted how much this field is growing in size and importance. In recognition of this, our Special Issue this year, ‘Uncovering developmental diversity’, will continue the theme. It is edited by our Academic Editor Cassandra Extavour (Harvard University, USA) alongside two Guest Editors: Liam Dolan (Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austria) and Karen Sears (University of California Los Angeles, USA). Advances in imaging, genomics and other technologies have opened the door to studying a wide variety of organisms with modern developmental biology approaches, allowing us to tackle fundamental questions about the evolution of multicellular life, the diversity of body plans and how organisms adapt to their environment. We want the Special Issue to showcase the range and variety of organisms being studied, and we encourage submission of Research Articles and Reports, as well as of Techniques and Resources papers. The deadline for submissions is 30 April 2024.
Finally, let us finish by thanking you – our readers, authors and referees (all those who reviewed and co-reviewed papers for us are listed in the supplementary information) – we are always grateful for your support. With your continued support and your papers, Development can continue to go from strength to strength and support the field. In recognition of your contribution, and to support the Company's efforts to protect and promote biodiversity in collaboration with The Woodland Trust, we are planting trees to represent each paper published, and protecting ancient woodland to reflect the work carried out by referees (Moulton and Freeman, 2023). You can visit the virtual forest – and if you happen to be visiting Derbyshire or the Lake District this year, please do go and see the real trees and tell us about your visit! As always, we're interested in hearing from you whether you have feedback, suggestions or want to tell your story, please feel free to get in touch. Happy New Year: we hope your 2024 is scientifically exciting and productive.
