Rosie Hynard, Events and Marketing Officer, The Physiological Society

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.120.14

In August, The Society launched an exciting new initiative, The Journal of Physiology’s Virtual Journal Club. Introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Virtual Journal Club provides an online platform where researchers can meet on a regular basis from anywhere in the world, to discuss the latest physiology and learn about what is best practice for publication.

Taking place on the first and third Wednesday of every month, each meeting of the Virtual Journal Club is hosted by a different early career physiologist. The hosts are tasked with selecting papers from The Journal for discussion, on the condition that they must have been published within 3 months prior to each meeting, ensuring that the focus is always on the latest research. The host is then responsible for forming an expert panel of authors and editors to allow for valuable conversations about both new research and publishing.

The exact structure of each meeting varies but there is always an initial panel discussion followed by an audience Q&A session, giving attendees the chance to comment on the chosen papers and ask for advice about publishing in The Journal. Each meeting is followed by a short networking session, giving the host, panellists, and audience members the opportunity to meet and reflect on what was discussed.

The online format of the Virtual Journal Club means that it has a global reach. In the 2 months since its launch, it has already been hosted by researchers based in Australia, Brazil, Ireland, France, and the UK. This international diversity is reflected in the attendees, with one meeting attracting researchers from 16 different countries.

The feedback we have received about the Virtual Journal Club so far has been very positive with all respondents rating it as either “good” or “excellent” and all saying they would recommend it to a colleague, collaborator or peer.

You can find recordings of past meetings of the Virtual Journal Club and details of upcoming meetings on our website.

Séverine Lamon

Deakin University, Victoria, Australia

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual gatherings have rapidly become our new normal. As scientists, we are naturally resilient and adaptable, and most of us have found a way to embrace some of the opportunities offered by the virtual environment. There are even things that we may never do the same way again. However, the pandemic also made us realise how much we can learn from interacting with each other. Great research ideas and collaborations often stem from informal chats at a conference or discussions around a drink at the end of a university function. Until 2020, it was unknown whether it would be possible to re-create this environment in an online setting, at least to some extent.

The Journal of Physiology’s Virtual Journal Club initiative has successfully demonstrated that we may not need to travel halfway across the world to have meaningful interactions with our fellow physiologists.

I was invited to host one of the first Virtual Journal Clubs in early August. I am located in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne’s time zone is not easily compatible with the rest of the world’s working hours. Regardless, a week to the meeting, we had over 100 attendees from four continents registered and counting. I enjoyed many aspects of the Virtual Journal Club: the flexible presentation format that allowed me to invite other early career researchers (ECRs) to act as panellists; the diversity of the audience who had from very little to very specific knowledge background; the interest and ease all demonstrated at question time; and the opportunity to invite my mum who had never heard me presenting before!

Another highlight was the virtual networking event that followed. A range of students, ECRs and mid-career researchers (MCRs) came together and shared their scientific stories. Young researchers from Brazil and the US reported waking up at 05.00 or 06.00 because the topic of the webinar was of interest to them. I reconnected with someone from Slovenia, who I had met at a conference years ago. I discussed future collaborations with a fellow muscle physiologist from the UK. All things I would have done at a conference, with zero carbon footprint and the opportunity to sleep in my own bed that night.

Don’t get me wrong – we all hope that the world will recover from the pandemic and that we will be able to get together again soon.

Some aspects of human interactions cannot be replaced. In the meantime, the Virtual Journal Club initiative led by The Physiological Society is a brilliant demonstration of the capacity of science and scientists to evolve and adapt to our changing environment. I am confident that we will be able to remember and keep some of these COVID-19-driven innovations in the future to further foster the discussions and collaborations that our field greatly needs to progress.

Bryan Saunders

University of São Paulo, Brazil

For those who work in physiology, The Physiological Society is a reference in the area and The Journal of Physiology is a holy grail where most aspire to publish their findings. I was more than delighted then, when The Physiological Society invited me to host a session for The Journal of Physiology’s new Virtual Journal Club scheme.

It is quickly becoming a cliché but these virtual web meetings, be it a full conference, webinar, group meeting with students, undergraduate lecture, or journal club meeting, have rapidly become the “new normal”. However, for the most part, it is envisaged that these events will return to their normal format once the worst of the pandemic is over and local and international travel is no longer limited. However, The Journal of Physiology’s Virtual Journal Club initiative is one that could (and should!) be here to stay.

The open format of the Virtual Journal Club session was refreshing, with The Physiological Society giving the host a flexible reign over the proceedings, which led to several unique sessions. I decided it might be interesting to provide an overview of my reasons for selecting the article to be discussed, before handing over to Rasmus Jensen, the lead author, to present and highlight the key points from his article. The clarity with which Rasmus presented his group’s data allowed me to discover new concepts and identify new avenues of research, which I otherwise might not have had without this Virtual Journal Club session. Much can be overlooked as we race through superficial readings of dozens of new articles simply trying to keep pace with the literature, but these Journal Club meetings provide the perfect opportunity to dig a little deeper. The Journal of Physiology editor Bettina Mittendorfer also provided some excellent insight into which aspects of the work rendered it of sufficient standard to be accepted in The Journal. Again, for those of us who dream of publishing our work in these top-level journals, this kind of information was gold.

The opt-in networking session that followed the more structured Journal Club format was a breath of fresh air, which is welcome for many during these stifling times with so many still cooped up indoors. Like any conversation, it requires input from all those involved but the few who stayed seemed keen and willing to talk science in a far more informal setting. It felt like a post-conference session down the pub, albeit without the alcohol and karaoke, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

I have thoroughly enjoyed The Journal of Physiology’s new Virtual Journal Club scheme and have attended several sessions aside from hosting my own.