A new initiative for the <i>Journal of the National Cancer Institute</i>: supporting early career investigators

As announced in the January 2024 issue of the Journal (1), the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) is piloting a new early career investigator initiative to address specific needs of early career investigators during this exciting period of rapid advances in medical research and changes in scientific publishing. This initiative was motivated by the recognition that early career investigators may benefit from additional support in navigating a complex publishing landscape, characterized by heightened competition; growth of team science; access to big data; transdisciplinarity; and complementary methods of communicating research, including social media. Furthermore, we acknowledge that scientific publishing has implications and responsibilities that extend beyond communication, as it impacts grant funding, reputational excellence, and career opportunities at a time when academic reward mechanisms are being reconsidered (2,3). The Journal appreciates that multiple factors, including established networks, a sustained body of funded research, and bibliometrics (especially if misapplied), may favor established investigators, thereby concentrating opportunities and resources within a shrinking pool of experienced researchers. Data suggest that early career investigators who achieve early career success in funding applications obtain a durable advantage, whereas those whose proposals fall narrowly below thresholds face less promising funding trajectories, and sometimes discouragement, termed the Matthew effect (4). To counter that, thus addressing the imperative of developing the most talented biomedical research workforce, the US National Institutes of Health has developed multiple initiatives to strengthen the competitiveness of early career investigator applications (5). The JNCI Early Career Investigator Initiative is aligned and complementary with the goals of supporting early career investigators, regardless of the home country for their research. Early career investigators have a pressing need to publish high-impact manuscripts that support grant applications, promotion, and tenure. Although publishing in JNCI is an achievement for all researchers, lack of experience with complex submission processes, intense scrutiny, the need for manuscript revisions, and publication costs may be prohibitive for early career investigators. We propose to mitigate these burdens by developing a special Early Career Investigator Research section within JNCI that meets the Journal’s high-quality standards for publication acceptance but provides a designated path for submission and peer review, augmented by ancillary author support. As this initiative is proposed as a pilot, we anticipate midcourse corrections and evolution of the project, with valued input from JNCI’s readers, authors, editors, reviewers, and other diverse stakeholders. There is a landing page (6) announcing the launch of the Early Career Investigator Research section in the Journal and describing the criteria for early career investigator submissions. Eligible submissions for the Early Career Investigator section include papers in which the first or senior authors are within 10 years of the award of their final degrees or training experiences (whichever is later), defined as postdoctoral fellowships, internships, or medical and professional residencies. The focus will be on publishing valuable original research within the scope of JNCI, especially on topics that seek to shift scientific thinking, change practice, or suggest new public health policies. Formal systematic reviews and meta-analyses will be considered if rigorous guidelines are met (ie, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) and the topic is of importance to our readers. Biomarker studies should include approaches for validation and follow reporting recommendations for REMARK. As the initial focus will be on empirical or systematic metaresearch, submissions communicating methodologic research, narrative reviews, and commentaries will not be considered as part of the Early Career Investigator Research initiative. A designated team of associate editors led by a special editor for this initiative (MES) will participate in this effort with the goal of providing an expanded peer review tailored to early career investigators, and a synthesis of all reviews will be provided. Thus, authors can benefit directly by receiving guidance about the submission under consideration and indirectly via a scholarly interaction, which may have enduring value. However, we will have to balance the provision of detailed guidance to early career investigators with the need to reach publication decisions without unnecessary delays. Although quality standards for acceptance will not be relaxed, editors will interact with authors in assisting them to meet validity expectations, especially when submissions are on important research with addressable concerns. As mentioned above, this is an experiment in editorial workflows. The Journal will continuously reassess the scope of the early career investigator initiative in the context of running a leading medical journal. In celebration of each early career investigator having their paper published in the Journal, we will publish their photographs and biographies on our website. We will ask that the early career investigators provide these during the revision stage, and they will be published with the accepted version of their manuscript, ahead of the corrected proof. Also, should early career investigators want to present their figures in color, the Journal will waive all color figure charges. JNCI’s editorial leadership is both excited and realistic about this new initiative and eager to receive feedback on its success, shortcomings, and ideas for improvement. As finding reviewers for manuscripts has become increasingly difficult, and we have a goal of providing expedited review to the early career investigator submissions, we will augment the reviewer pool for the Early Career Investigator Research section with experienced reviewers who have a demonstrated passion for mentorship. Criteria for selection include a strong commitment to advancing careers of early career investigators, experience with peer review, and domain expertise and experience relevant to the scope of JNCI, including study design, biostatistics, and bioinformatics. Interested individuals should contact the Journal by sending a short e-mail expressing interest and providing a curriculum vitae ([email protected]). We encourage applications from underrepresented minorities, researchers outside the United States, and individuals with diverse scientific interests and expertise. As this pilot moves forward, we look ahead to opportunities to partner with other organizations and to support the early career investigator community in additional ways and welcome input from our readership. The COVID pandemic, advances in artificial intelligence, and transformation of medical publication from print to electronic formats have heightened expectations of immediacy and transparency in an environment of shrinking government funding of research. The Journal recognizes that these expectant times demand increased support for developing an empowered next generation of cancer researchers who can fulfill the promise of the National Cancer Act of 1971, which declared a “war on cancer” (7). No new data were generated or analyzed for this editorial. Mark E. Sherman, MD (Conceptualization; Writing—original draft; Writing—review & editing), Amanda Boehm, PhD (Conceptualization; Writing—review & editing), and Eduardo L. Franco, PhD (Conceptualization; Writing—review & editing). No funding was used for this editorial. Eduardo L. Franco is the Editor-in-Chief of JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute and receives an honorarium from Oxford University Press. Amanda L. Boehm is the Managing Editor of JNCI and is an Oxford University Press employee. Mark E. Sherman is the Special Editor for Early Career Investigator Initiatives for JNCI and receives an honorarium from Oxford University Press. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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