Laura Rich
University of Nottingham,
Nottingham, UK

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.110.43

At the start of my research masters (MRes) my supervisor encouraged me to read The Physiological Society’s publication Women Physiologists: Centenary Celebrations and Beyond. The many accounts of how one of their proudest achievements was publishing their first paper were an inspirational start to my career as a woman in science.

Undertaking the MRes at the University of Nottingham gave me the opportunity to pursue my love of glial cells, a love that developed through my undergraduate degree. I was able to investigate the metabolic interactions between Schwann cells and axons in peripheral nerves. My focus for the year was to gain further insight into a career in research, but I never imagined that after only one year I would have sufficient data to consider publication.

Choosing the journal in which to publish was the first big decision. As a former Undergraduate, and now Affiliate Member of The Physiological Society, I was keen to publish in The Journal of Physiology, as throughout both my degrees The Journal’s gold standard of quality was highlighted
to me. I knew I would be proud of being published in such an influential journal.

We didn’t start writing the paper until I had submitted my MRes thesis. Writing my thesis allowed me to determine the most logical flow of the story, and the discussion taught me the complex task of integrating my data with the existing literature. Condensing it from 25,000 words to a publishable paper was the first challenge. After many draft copies passed between my supervisor and I, we finally submitted the final version, calling for a well-earned ‘coffee break’.

The process of publishing was new to me, but I now have an appreciation for not only all the work that goes into the experiments for each paper, but also the amount of work that the rigorous peer review entails. Receiving encouraging comments from The Journal such as ‘I am pleased to tell
you that it is considered to be potentially acceptable for publication’ was an enormous relief after waiting in anticipation for a few weeks over Christmas. Despite this, reading the list of required amendments felt a little disheartening. However, as we addressed each comment I realised their purpose was not to criticise me, but to improve and help me make the paper as good as it possibly could be. After each step I felt more excited and anxious about the prospect of publishing my first paper getting closer.

I feel proud that I can now add my own paper: Fibre sub-type specific conduction reveals metabolic function in mouse sciatic nerve (physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1113/JP275680), to the collection of literature on this topic. Celebrations will definitely be in order. I am currently in my first year of the BBSRC DTP PhD at the University of Nottingham and as I move forward in my career I hope the art of publishing becomes a familiar experience.