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Spotlight On: Manuela Marescotti

We are back with our 'Spotlight On' interview series, shedding light on inspiring women working in the field of neuroscience and reflecting on their distinct backgrounds and career journeys. The questions posed to these individuals explore the themes of job perks and challenges, developing new skills, their inspirations in the neuroscience field, and goals for the future. Stay tuned to see new interviews every few weeks from women in a range of neuroscience-related professions!

Manuela Marescotti, Scientific Editor of the Academic Journal Brain Communications
Manuela Marescotti, Scientific Editor of the Academic Journal Brain Communications

We interviewed Dr Manuela Marescotti, Scientific Editor of the Academic Journal Brain Communications based in Edinburgh, UK. Manuela studied Biotechnology during her undergraduate and master’s years, and has a PhD in Neuroscience. In this interview, Manuela explored the career journey of a neuroscientist-turned-scientific editor, touching on her background in genetics and her current role analysing trends and biases in academic submissions. She also delves into her daily routine, the challenges of editorial work, her aspirations in science communication, and reflections on equity in academia.



Can you tell us about your background in science, your current area of study and what interested you about neuroscience initially? 


For my undergraduate degree, I decided to study Biotechnology for healthcare because the university programme (at the University of Naples ‘Federico II’, Italy) had a focus on genetics related to human health. My passion for science, in particular genetics, stemmed from when I studied genetic diseases for the first time during science lessons at high school. Following that, my university lab projects were related to neuroscience, which is a subject I had already encountered through my father’s job…he is a psychiatrist! However, in my own studies I worked on neurodegeneration and the molecular mechanisms underlying these conditions, rather than human behaviour. 


Currently, I am not a bench-researcher anymore, as I work as a Scientific Editor for the Brain Communications journal. Given my position, I can read about different areas of neuroscience, and it is amazing that I get paid to do that! My training as a researcher recently led me to carry out some data analysis - not of experimental results this time, but of novel findings drawn from the papers submitted to Brain Communications. Part of my role is to check if there are any incidences of bias within the peer-review process at the journal. 


In 2022, I published an article where I reported data from a gender analysis run on Brain Communications’ reviewers and authors. At the moment, I am working to extend this analysis to the geographical location of the academic institutions of Brain Communications’ reviewers and authors. 



What is your day-to-day schedule like? 


My job looks very static, because I usually spend my working day at the laptop. However, with an eager eye, one may see that I carry out distinctly different tasks. Every day I wake up between 5:30-6am to do 20 minutes of exercise while watching a TV series, followed by breakfast, and then some time to write down my gratitude thoughts, general thoughts about anything on my mind, and a plan for my day. I find it very useful to have this time at the beginning of the day to connect with myself and make it clear what I have to do that day. Then, between 7:30-9:30am, I dedicate time  to getting myself ready, preparing the kids, and dropping them off at school and nursery. At 9:30am, I start with my main task: checking papers sent for peer-review at Brain Communications and rigorously checking their data collection and analysis. The amount of time I dedicate to this task varies depending on how many papers are waiting and how much time I need to check through them, taking approximately 1-2 hours. Then, I notify the editor-in-chief, Professor Tara Spires-Jones (see our interview with her here!), of the papers that are waiting for her final approval. Next, I usually look at the papers in need of an extra reviewer to peer-review them. After that, I have lunch - even though I love to spend it in good company, I sometimes have this meal in the office to save time if it’s a particularly busy day. 


During the afternoon, my schedule can become more flexible, depending on the day, the week, or even the month. I check emails regularly, but I tend to not do this continuously during other tasks so that I don’t disrupt my focus time. I also share the Brain Communications social media posts to boost engagement and disseminate information to our audience. Later, I dedicate time to data analysis, meetings with the journal’s managing editor to discuss papers, author enquiries, and journal plans, or meetings with the PhD students on our my so that we can update each other. Sometimes I also meet the editor-in-chief to update her about the tasks run within my team, future plans, or next actions to take. I often attend neuroscience seminars within my department, or meetings related to the scientific publishing side of my job. At 5:30pm, I leave the office to pick up my daughter and then I go home, and the evening is dedicated to time with the family. 



What made you pursue the position you are currently in?


Two experiences encouraged me to pursue my current role. The first one was being the newsletter editor of the Genetics Society (UK) for 4 years during my first post-doc position. This newsletter was issued every 6 months, and included relevant news and interviews for the society, as well as reports from early career researchers who received funding from the Genetics Society for their project. I loved being updated about topics that I was interested in, even if not related specifically to my research area, and being able to network with like-minded colleagues across fields. 


The second prominent experience was a series of weekends organised by the Ingenious and Enterprising Women programme in 2018, which focussed on the women’s professional development. This course uncovered my interest in science communication, and made me consider that I may be better suited for a role in communication and engagement rather than being a laboratory-based researcher. 



What are the most enjoyable aspects of your current job?


I love having the opportunity to learn about neuroscience and scientific advancements in general, being in an academic environment, and not having the stress of running lab experiments. 



What are some of the challenging aspects of your current job?


The journal never stops at any time of the year, so every time I plan to take time off I need to coordinate with my team to make sure that my main work tasks are delegated and carried out in my absence.  



What are you currently trying to get better at in your neuroscience job?


During the past 12 months I have put a lot of effort into improving my time-management, both in the general organisation of my everyday life, but also in accomplishing my work goals. I am a wife, mother of two and have a full-time job - it is not easy, and I have learned that my free time needs to be planned well to ensure that I get the most out of it. I have learned to prioritise and identify actions that will give me peace of mind at work and at home.  


In addition, I have also worked to improve my people management skills. During the past two years, my little Scientific Editor Team has grown because of the increasing number of submissions to Brain Communications. I realised that it is also important in this job to develop standard operating procedures and protocols, for example to shorten the training times of new staff. I have also worked on making the team feel more collaborative, so that people feel like they are part of something important and inclusive. 


A job in neuroscience requires constant updates about ongoing work , which is not easy to do when there are many other tasks to complete in any given job. However, editors of academic journals are very much aware of the most recent advancements in the subject they specialise in. Whenever it is possible to put aside my parent duties, I attend relevant seminars, academic meetings and continue to read.




What goals do you have for your career, and where do you see yourself in the next few years professionally?


At the moment I have two main goals. Firstly, I’d like to pursue a career in neuroscientific academic publishing, at this journal or for a different one. I would love to build up a reputation as an expert in this field. Secondly, since I have great interest in science communication, I’d love to develop a personal project to educate young scientists about the world of scientific publishing.  Publishing papers is fundamental for the scientific community and advancement of a scientist’s career; however, there is no standard training for this in universities.



Artificial intelligence is becoming more commonplace day-to-day. How do you believe it may affect journals/publishing and jobs such as editing?


In the near future, from a journal point of view, I can see that AI may be implemented in some of the standard processes that each paper being reviewed will go through such as suggesting potential reviewers for a paper based on specific expertise. AI may also be used to carry on standard qualitative checks on the paper. The extent of AI implementation will depend on how much we may trust AI to accurately check the scientific content without human intervention.



What advice would you give to women at the early stages of their neuroscience careers? And more specifically, how would you recommend women enter editor careers? 


I am a big fan of pursuing extracurricular activities whilst being a university student, especially those relevant for your subjects of interest. This is because they can provide significant networking opportunities, which lead to meeting people that may become role models and inspire your future path. It is great to have these experiences at a young age because there is usually more free time. That said, for a career in neuroscience it is great to join relevant societies and/or initiatives, including Women in Neuroscience UK, and try to help or participate in the organisation of events such as academic conferences. 


Regarding pursuing a career as an editor, I would recommend checking the websites of journals to search for internships that may give you the chance to shadow an editor for a period of time. The internships may or may not be paid, but one can gain a real flavour of the kind of job being an editor is. The office work context is something that science students do not easily see or have access to during university, as they are usually in laboratories during their projects.



Which women in your life inspire you, in neuroscience and beyond?


My mum was the first, and is the main, woman that has inspired me in my life, especially as a working mum. She did well as an architect and full-time Professor at the Institute of Art in Naples, and was a mum of her generation! She was determined to pursue her career, but at the same time she put a lot of effort into looking after her family everyday. Even though I lost her a few years ago, the memory of everyday life at the time when my sister and I were little is a great example to me. 


Another woman that is also a role model for me is Professor Tara Spires-Jones - she is a very talented and busy woman, and also a mother, and even in her busiest days she never loses her temper or friendly attitude. I think she is a great example of a manager who creates the best environment for her team to ensure people are working towards their best potential. 



What aspects of the science/academic industry do you think need improving/addressing, particularly in terms of issues minority groups may face? In particular, have you noticed any biases in academia and/or publishing? 


Since I became a scientific editor and left bench work, I have focussed on the analysis of potential sources of bias in science. This has been based on the data I have collected about researchers submitting papers sent to Brain Communications, first focussing on their gender, and more recently on the geography and the researchers’ institutions (work in progress). From the data I have collected, it is clear that there is a disparity between the representation of men and women researchers, although thankfully Brain Communications journal does not appear to have clear biases. Where possible, each journal should take action towards supporting minority groups, for example through awards (e.g. to spread awareness of female-led research or to promote the journal in more countries), or by waiving the fees when researchers are based in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). More importantly, improving and increasing the amount of data that academic journals collect to identify potential sources of biases in their system may be transformative in helping institutions and other policy-makers to take focused actions to reduce biases across academia. 


Connect with Manuela here:


This interview was conducted by Rebecca Pope and edited by Lauren Wallis, with graphics produced by Lilly Green and Rebecca Pope. If you enjoyed this article, be the first to be notified about new posts by signing up to become a WiNUK member (top right of this page)! Interested in writing for WiNUK yourself? Contact us through the blog page and the editors will be in touch.



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