We’re delighted to welcome Phil Donoghue FRS as the new Editor-In-Chief of Proceedings B. Find out more about Phil’s background, current research and how he feels about his new appointment.
Proceedings B is the Royal Society’s flagship biological research journal, publishing original articles and reviews of outstanding scientific importance and broad general interest across all areas of the biological sciences. We are delighted to announce that Professor Philip Donoghue from the University of Bristol has started in his new role as Editor-in-Chief of the journal. We recently asked Phil a few questions about his background, research and hobbies.
How does it feel to take on the Editor-in-Chief role of Proceedings B?
I’m a strong advocate for society journals because they are run by scientists for scientists, focussed on publishing excellent science, and ploughing publishing profits back into science rather than returning it to shareholders. Proceedings B is a shining example that tries to do even more, always looking for new ways to improve biological science, including publishing initiatives to improve scientific practise, translate research outcomes into policy, and achieve equity in the science it publishes. I’m therefore very excited to take on this role and I hope that I can help the publishing and editorial teams to achieve even more.
Can you tell us about your background and research?
My research group studies major transitions in evolutionary history, integrating evidence from the fossil record and phylogenomics to fill in the reciprocal gaps in these parallel records of evolutionary history. In recent years, I have worked with an amazing group of collaborators to leverage insights into the evolutionary origin of animals, land plants, eukaryotes and early cellular life. I’m also interested in exploring the efficacy of the methods we use and the data we analyse. I helped to develop approaches to using fossil data in molecular clock analyses, decay experiments for understanding the fossil record, and applications of synchrotron radiation to the study of exceptionally preserved fossils.
Why did you decide to work in this area?
I started out as a geologist but I soon fell in love with palaeontology, most especially through introduction to the tiny world of micropalaeontology – the study of fossils of microscopic size, including groups like the forams and ostracods. I became enthralled by the extinct conodonts, known largely from their teeny tiny teeth, which were all the rage when I did my PhD, in no small part because of an uncivilised debate over their biological affinity. My physical sciences background was not the best foundation but working on this controversy drew me deeper into phylogeny, histology and developmental biology, which spun out into researching the evolution of the vertebrate skeleton and early vertebrate evolution more generally.
What has been the biggest influence on your career?
Early in my career I received a peculiar letter from the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA), telling me that they liked what I did and asking whether I might be interested in doing something else. After a period of talking-therapy with my assigned key-worker, we decided that I should learn some molecular biology and so they funded a sabbatical and arranged for me to work with Anthony Graham at KCL and Robert Kelsh at the University of Bath, whose undergraduate interns, PhD students and Postdocs humoured my attempts to clone genes implicated in skeletal development, from sharks and lampreys. I could not be accused of having had a natural talent for the work, but I gained an immense amount of knowledge and practical experience that was foundational in developing the strange blend of ‘molecular palaeobiology’ that my research group still focuses on.
Do you have any advice for researchers planning to submit to the journal?
Please send us your best research! We cannot publish every manuscript that is submitted to the journal, but we want to help you to get published. Our editors are practising scientists from across the breadth of biological science and so they can help to select the most appropriate reviewers, understand their reports and make decisions on next steps based on intimate knowledge of the topic.
What do you like doing when you are not doing science?
When I’m not doing science, I’m usually annoying my wife and kids, running, obsessing about the ferns in my garden and, when I’m lucky, scrambling in mountains.
For more information about the journal and details of how to submit, please visit the Proceedings B website.
Image credits – Phil Donoghue
