Are you an early career researcher passionate about plants and science communication? The Plant Cell is accepting applications for new Assistant Features Editors (AFEs) to begin in 2026 and 2027. AFEs provide a valuable service to the journal, our authors, and the scientific community. In return, AFEs join our editorial board and receive training and experience in writing and communicating scientific findings to a wide audience, as well as networking opportunities and editor training through participating in activities of The Plant Cell editorial board. We are welcoming applications through Monday, September 15, 2025.
The Plant Cell AFEs contribute “In Brief” articles highlighting recent publications in the journal, are invited to participate in editorial board discussions, and receive peer review training. AFEs are invited to participate in Plant Cell editorial board meetings, and for the in-person meeting, travel expenses are covered by the journal.
In the words of former AFE Josh Strable (now an Assistant Professor at Iowa State),
“Serving as an AFE for The Plant Cell was one of the most important experiences I had as a postdoc. The mentorship from the journal editors and staff, the ability to interact with authors, and the opportunity to consult on manuscripts and participate in the annual meeting, collectively, made the position exciting and highly valuable. My favorite emails during my time as an AFE were the ones with the subject ‘New Plant Cell Ms #’. I opened those immediately!”
The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology recruit AFEs in alternating years. From the applications received in September 2025, one cohort will be selected to start as an AFE with The Plant Cell in 2026, and another cohort to start in 2027. Next year Plant Physiology will recruit AFEs to start in 2027 and 2028. AFE appointments are initially for one year and are renewable for a second year upon mutual agreement. AFEs are paid a small honorarium and are provided with financial support to attend in-person editorial board meetings (usually held in conjunction with the annual American Society of Plant Biologists annual Plant Biology meeting).
Candidates should be senior Ph.D. students or postdocs, and preference is given to postdoctoral researchers with a proven track record of research excellence, writing skills, and a commitment to communicating science.
To apply, please send your application materials to TPCAFEapplication@aspb.org with “Plant Cell AFE Application” as the subject. Questions can be directed to Nan Eckardt (neckardt@aspb.org). As this program is designed to help early-career scientists develop their writing skills, we ask that applicants do not use artificial intelligence tools (such as ChatGPT) in preparing their application materials. The cover letter should be written intentionally, providing information about you as a scientist and your motivation for applying for this program. Applications with generic cover letters or letters that merely repeat text from this application call are unlikely to be successful.
Application materials must include:
- A cover letter describing your experience, areas of expertise, future goals, and interest in the role of AFE.
- Current CV.
- Contact information for two professional referees, and request that each of these referees email a letter of recommendation to Nan Eckardt (neckardt@aspb.org) by the September 15 deadline.
- A first-author paper that you were responsible for writing.
- An In Brief writing sample. Please select an article from the list below and follow the guidelines below to prepare your writing sample. Most of these articles are open access: if you are unable to access your chosen article, please contact Nan Eckardt (neckardt@aspb.org) for assistance.
Please select an article from the list below to highlight with an In Brief writing sample.
- The molecular framework balancing growth and defense in response to plant elicitor peptide-induced signals in Arabidopsis
- CAMTA3 repressor destabilization triggers TIR domain protein TN2-mediated autoimmunity in the Arabidopsis exo70B1mutant
- Arabinosylation of cell wall extensin is required for the directional response to salinity in roots
- Antisense transcription from stress-responsive transcription factors fine-tunes the cold response in Arabidopsis
- Quantitative proteomics reveals extensive lysine ubiquitination and transcription factor stability states in Arabidopsis
- Noncanonical transcription initiation is primarily tissue specific and epigenetically tuned in paleopolyploid plants
- The kinase ATR controls meiotic crossover distribution at the genome scale in Arabidopsis
- Arabidopsis ribosomal RNA processing meerling mutants exhibit suspensor-derived polyembryony due to direct reprogramming of the suspensor
- Widespread adaptive evolution in angiosperm photosystems provides insight into the evolution of photosystem II repair
- Altered interactions between cis-regulatory elements partially resolve BLADE-ON-PETIOLE genetic redundancy in Capsella rubella
- Molecular mechanisms underlying gene regulatory variation of maize metabolic traits
- Integrative omics analysis elucidates the genetic basis underlying seed weight and oil content in soybean
Guidelines for In Brief writing sample
In Brief articles aim to provide readers with a summary of the main findings of a recent research article, along with interesting background information and a brief commentary on why the findings are important. Articles should be aimed at the general audience of The Plant Cell: written in an engaging style understandable by graduate students or upper-level undergraduates majoring in science, and also appealing and interesting to experts in the field. The text is limited to approximately 600 words and a maximum of six references.
The In Brief should have a concise descriptive title and include a simple figure that illustrates a key point (figure legend limited to approximately 50 words). The figure might be an image from the research paper, one or a few panels of a multi-panel figure, or something that is not in the paper, such as a picture of the plant or organism(s) under investigation or a simple diagram that explains a concept. (You don’t need to assemble a high-resolution figure; you might use the snipping tool and cut and paste into a PowerPoint or Word document, or simply provide a suggestion and potential brief figure legend below the text.)
Please read examples of published In Brief articles to familiarize yourself with the style and format. Good examples can be found in any recent issue of the journal, at https://academic.oup.com/plcell/issue.
