In this episode of SSP’s Early Career Development Podcast, hosts Meredith Adinolfi (Cell Press) and Sara Grimme (Digital Science) chat with Magdalena Skipper, Editor-in-Chief of Nature and the first woman to lead the journal.

Magdalena discusses how her interest in biology led her to obtain a PhD in genetics from the University of Cambridge. She shares serendipitously finding a job advertisement and the interview process for her first role in scholarly publishing as a Scientific Editor at Nature Reviews Genetics. She went on to become the Editor-in-Chief of that journal through her passion for supporting researchers in disseminating their discoveries. Magdalena has held several roles at Nature Partner Journals and Nature Communications allowing her to broaden her horizons beyond biology through interactions with researchers across scientific disciplines. In her role today, she leads a multidisciplinary journal, Nature, which publishes natural science and is quickly expanding into clinical and translational research, social science, applied science, and engineering. This conversation with Magdalena will leave listeners excited about the research ecosystem and inspired to be courageous in their own careers.

Background on this podcast series

SSP’s Career Development Committee launched this podcast series in 2019 to offer advice and discussion on how early career publishing professionals can add to their skill sets, develop networks, and take advantage of new opportunities. The series presents interviews and insights from experienced professionals on how to navigate one’s career in a diverse and ever-changing landscape of scholarly communications. If you have any feedback for the hosts, creators, or for future episodes, please email info@sspnet.org