Our in-house editors are PhD-level scientists with research experience. All in-house editors work full-time for the journal to oversee the review process, handle manuscripts as primary editors, liaise with our Editorial Board Members and enforce journal policy. Editors also engage in other activities on behalf of the journal, such as attending and organizing conferences and meeting with scientists at their institutions.
In-house editors work closely with our Editorial Board Members to ensure that all manuscripts are subject to the same editorial standards and journal policies.
Senior Editor: Katharine Barnes, PhD, Springer Nature, UK
Katharine obtained a PhD in Cancer Pharmacology at the Institute of Cancer Research, London and did postdoctoral research at the University of Pittsburgh. She became an editor in 2001; her roles have included Editor of Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, Chief Editor and Managing Editor of Nature Protocols and locum Senior Editor at Nature Biomedical Engineering. She joined Communications Medicine in September 2021 and is based in the London office. k.barnes@nature.com
Senior Editor: Meg Mashbat, PhD, Springer Nature, UK
Meg obtained a PhD from and worked as a Postdoctoral researcher in the department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases at Imperial College, London. Her doctoral research was focused on identifying rare and novel genetic variants that confer susceptibility to meningococcal disease using next generation sequencing and mechanistic studies. She worked as a Senior Editor at eBioMedicine, one of The Lancet’s Discovery Science journals for nearly 4 years. She then joined Communications Medicine in November 2022 and is based in the London office. meg.mashbat@nature.com
Associate Editor: Valerie Salvatico, PhD, Springer Nature, US
Valerie received her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Genetics at Drexel University College of Medicine. She completed postdoctoral studies at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her research focused on elucidating novel vulnerabilities in breast and ovarian cancer to identify potential therapeutic targets. She then served as a field applications scientist in the Cell Analysis division of Agilent Technologies for several years. She joined Communications Medicine in February 2024 and is based in the Philadelphia office. valerie.salvatico@us.nature.com
Associate Editor: Lauren Malave, PhD, Springer Nature, US
Lauren received her PhD in Biology with a focus in Neuroscience from the City University of New York (CUNY) graduate center in 2020, investigating therapeutic targets for Parkinson's disease. She went on to do her postdoctoral work at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, firstly studying cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia, and then risk factors of early life-trauma in psychiatric disorders. Lauren also taught Human Medical Genetics as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at CUNY School of Medicine. She joined Communications Medicine in August 2024 and is based in the New York office. Lauren.Malave@springernature.com
Consulting Editor: Mano Soundararajan, PhD, Springer Nature, Germany
Mano earned her PhD in Life Sciences from the University of Wuerzburg, with research focused on the molecular mechanisms behind the antagonistic effects and phage resistance of probiotic E. coli strains. For her postdoctoral work at the Institute of Molecular Infection Biology, Wuerzburg, she studied the spread and molecular biology of antibiotic-resistant staphylococci. She is a Senior Commissioning Editor in the Collection Management and Acquisition Team, overseeing topical collections for open-access journals. Mano joined Communications Medicine as consulting editor in September 2024 and is based in the Heidelberg office manonmani.soundararajan@springernature.com.
