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Miranda Robertson

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Scientific editor of textbooks and journals
Miranda Robertson
BornMiranda Barnett
1945
London
OccupationScientific Editor
Known forBiology Editor of the journal Nature; editor for the textbook Molecular Biology of the Cell

Miranda Robertson is a scientific editor. She is known for serving as Biology Editor at Nature from 1983 to 1992, during which time Nature's visibility and influence in the life sciences substantially increased, and for her contributions to the influential textbook Molecular Biology of the Cell. As editor of BMC's open-access Journal of Biology, she introduced pioneering improvements in the process of peer review, including the ability for authors to opt out of re-review.

Early life and family

Robertson was the daughter of S. Anthony (Tony) Barnett, a zoologist specializing in rat behavior who was also a prolific author and broadcaster. He was born in Hertfordshire and moved to Canberra in 1971 to take up a position at the Australian National University, where he served as Professor of Zoology until his retirement. Her mother was Marjorie Phillips, who worked with pioneering educator John Newsom when he was County Education Officer for Hertfordshire during the Second World War. Her uncle, James Barnett, was a yeast biologist.

Career

Robertson joined Nature in 1970 during John Maddox's first term as Editor. As a member of the Biology Team and subsequently Biology Editor, she frequently wrote articles for Nature's News and Views series highlighting important recent developments in a variety of areas, including immunology, development, the molecular mechanisms of disease, and early efforts in artificial intelligence, in vitro fertilisation and gene therapy. In 1973, when Maddox was replaced by David Davies, Nature instituted systematic peer review of submitted manuscripts. Under Davies, and subsequently in Maddox's second term, the selectivity of publication decisions dramatically increased. As the difficulty and importance of these decisions increased, Robertson developed strong relationships with many key figures in the biological community to improve decision-making. Noted theoretical biologist Robert May described Robertson as "exceptionally good and well informed" in explaining his willingness to write an unusually large number of News and Views pieces for Nature. She knew Francis Crick both professionally and through family connections, and wrote a "brief and superficial impression" of his life and work after his death in 2004.

In 1976, while still at Nature, Robertson began to work with a team of scientists led by Bruce Alberts and James Watson on a new textbook, Molecular Biology of the Cell, which was published by Garland Science in 1983. As the developmental editor, she organized an unprecedentedly large and diverse network of university undergraduate students and teachers to provide feedback on drafts of chapters. In the preface of the first edition, the authors wrote: "Most of the advice obtained from students and outside experts was collected and digested by Miranda Robertson. By insisting that every page be lucid and coherent, and rewriting many of those that were not, she has played a major part in the creation of a textbook that undergraduates will read with ease." The book was praised by reviewers for its "unobtrusively lucid style, which is the mark of much tender loving care" and was later called “the most influential cell biology textbook of its time”.

In 1992 Robertson left Nature and joined Garland Science. Because of her standing in the biology community and the example set by Molecular Biology of the Cell, she was able to partner with several noted biologists to create new textbooks. She played an important part in the development of Immunobiology by Charles Janeway and Paul Travers, and edited two editions of Introduction to Protein Structure by Carl Branden and John Tooze. In 1996 Garland Science was acquired by Taylor & Francis.

In 1998 Robertson joined New Science Press as Managing Director, where she initiated a series of Primers in Biology with a modular design intended to make teaching easier. The series included "Protein Structure and Function" by Gregory Petsko and Dagmar Ringe and "The Cell Cycle: Principles of Control" by David Morgan. She also co-authored Immunity: The Immune Response to Infectious and Inflammatory Disease with Anthony DeFranco and Richard Locksley.

In 2008, Robertson moved to New Science Press's sister company, BioMedCentral, the first fully open-access publisher. As Editor of Journal of Biology, which later merged with BMC Biology, Robertson introduced a number of editorial innovations, including a policy allowing authors to opt out of re-review after responding to reviewers' comments, arguing that "pit-bull reviewing" did not serve the community well. This policy was catalyzed by a situation of a highly delayed second review, reported to Robertson by Peter Walter. Announcing the new policy in 2009, Robertson commented that it is "the job of journal editors to promote the dissemination of research results rather than to obstruct it, it is the author who is in the end accountable for the quality and validity of the paper that is published." Robertson also introduced a checklist for documenting that submitted papers meet reporting standards for reproducibility and the ability for researchers to pre-register their planned course of research. Robertson's editorials often focused on open questions and unacknowledged "dirty secrets", using Sydney Brenner's term "Ockham's Broom" to refer to the practice of sweeping inconvenient facts under the rug.

In 2017, Robertson announced her retirement from BMC Biology and was replaced as Editor by Mirna Kvajo.

References

  1. Births registered in January, February and March 1945. Pancras District, London. pp. Vol 1b, p25.
  2. "History of the Journal Nature: The 1980s". www.nature.com. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  3. ^ Newmark, Peter (2015). "Who nurtured Nature?". Current Biology. 25 (22): R1060–R1061. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.09.050.
  4. ^ Serpente, Norberto (2013). "Beyond a pedagogical tool: 30 years of Molecular Biology of the Cell". Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. 14 (2): 120–125. doi:10.1038/nrm3513. ISSN 1471-0072. PMID 23340575. S2CID 5758800.
  5. Vines, Gail (2 September 1989). "Cellular Success:: Molecular biology of the cell. By Bruce Alberts, Dennis Bray, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, James D. Watson. Garland Publishing. pp1082, $51.95". New Scientist. 1680: 65.
  6. "A re-review of peer review: Leading journal looks to end the 'review nightmare'". phys.org. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  7. ^ Robertson, Miranda (2009-01-27). "What are journals for?". Journal of Biology. 8 (1): 1. doi:10.1186/jbiol111. ISSN 1475-4924. PMC 2656217.
  8. Barnett, Samuel Anthony (2001). The story of rats : their impact on us, and our impact on them. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1741151082. OCLC 52833071.
  9. Barnett, Samuel Anthony (1998). The science of life : from cells to survival. St. Leonards Australia: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1864486104. OCLC 38831746.
  10. Barnett, Samuel Anthony (2000). Science, myth or magic? : a struggle for existence. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1865081221. OCLC 44894678.
  11. "Staff of the University" (PDF). Calendar of the Australian National University: 81. 1973.
  12. "Anthony (Tony) BARNETT". Currawong. 2010-12-27. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  13. Parker, David (2005). John Newsom : a Hertfordshire educationist. Hatfield, Hertfordshire: University of Hertfordshire Press. p. 38. ISBN 190280645X. OCLC 61176174.
  14. Turner, John (2015-05-07). "James Barnett obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  15. "History of the Journal Nature: The 1970's". www.nature.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  16. Robertson, Miranda (1981). "Genes of lymphocytes II: T-cell receptors, idiotypes and the MHC". Nature. 291 (5812): 187–188. Bibcode:1981Natur.291..187R. doi:10.1038/291187a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 6785653.
  17. Robertson, Miranda (1982). "Gene rearrangement and the generation of diversity". Nature. 297 (5863): 184–186. Bibcode:1982Natur.297..184R. doi:10.1038/297184a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 7078634.
  18. Robertson, Miranda (1985). "T-cell receptor: The present state of recognition". Nature. 317 (6040): 768–771. Bibcode:1985Natur.317..768R. doi:10.1038/317768a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 3877244.
  19. Robertson, Miranda (1988). "Tolerance, restriction and the Mls enigma". Nature. 332 (6159): 18–19. Bibcode:1988Natur.332...18R. doi:10.1038/332018a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 3126395. S2CID 28191340.
  20. Robertson, Miranda (1987). "Towards a biochemistry of morphogenesis". Nature. 330 (6147): 420–421. Bibcode:1987Natur.330..420R. doi:10.1038/330420a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 2825024.
  21. Robertson, Miranda (1987). "A genetic switch in Drosophila morphogenesis". Nature. 327 (6123): 556–557. Bibcode:1987Natur.327..556R. doi:10.1038/327556a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
  22. Robertson, Miranda (1988). "Developmental decisions and pattern formation". Nature. 335 (6190): 494–495. Bibcode:1988Natur.335..494R. doi:10.1038/335494a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 3419528. S2CID 4339569.
  23. Robertson, Miranda (1984). "Oncogenetics: Progress in malignancy". Nature. 309 (5968): 512–513. Bibcode:1984Natur.309..512R. doi:10.1038/309512b0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 6728005. S2CID 4263450.
  24. Robertson, Miranda (1985). "Genetic screening: The heredity of haemophilia". Nature. 314 (6013): 674–675. Bibcode:1985Natur.314..674R. doi:10.1038/314674a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 3921851. S2CID 4330568.
  25. Robertson, Miranda (1983). "Tumours of lymphocytes: What happens when cellular oncogenes collide with immunoglobulin genes". Nature. 302 (5908): 474–475. Bibcode:1983Natur.302..474R. doi:10.1038/302474a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 6835380.
  26. Robertson, Miranda (1984). "Retinitis pigmentosa: Progress in sight". Nature. 309 (5965): 210. Bibcode:1984Natur.309..210R. doi:10.1038/309210a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 6538935.
  27. Robertson, Miranda (1976). "Artificial intelligence in education". Nature. 262 (5568): 435–437. Bibcode:1976Natur.262..435R. doi:10.1038/262435a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
  28. Robertson, Miranda (1974). "Those babies still pose problems". Nature. 250 (5465): 368. Bibcode:1974Natur.250..368R. doi:10.1038/250368a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
  29. Robertson, Miranda (1986). "Gene Therapy: Desperate appliances". Nature. 320 (6059): 213–214. Bibcode:1986Natur.320..213R. doi:10.1038/320213a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 3457267. S2CID 4309909.
  30. Baldwin, Melinda (2015-09-20). "Credibility, peer review, and Nature, 1945–1990". Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London. 69 (3): 337–352. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2015.0029. ISSN 0035-9149. PMC 4528400. PMID 26495581.
  31. "Journals Tussle Over Talent". The Scientist Magazine®. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  32. "May, Robert (8 of 10). An Oral History of British Science - Oral history of British science - Oral history | British Library - Sounds". sounds.bl.uk. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
  33. Robertson, Miranda (2004-09-01). "Francis Crick, 1916–2004". BioScience. 54 (9): 808–809. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2004)054[0808:FC]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0006-3568.
  34. Molecular biology of the cell. Alberts, Bruce. New York: Garland Pub. 1983. ISBN 0824072820. OCLC 8805724.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  35. Cairns, John (1983-05-01). "Prospero's cell: Molecular biology of the cell. By B. Alberts, D. Bray, J. Lewis, M. Raff, K. Roberts, and J. D. Watson. New York: Garland Publishing Inc. (1983). 1210 pp. $34.95". Cell. 33 (1): 1–2. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(83)90321-5. ISSN 0092-8674. S2CID 54389956.
  36. Friedberg, Errol C. (2005). The writing life of James D. Watson. Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. ISBN 0879697008. OCLC 55887540.
  37. North, Geoffrey (2004-02-17). "Geoffrey North". Current Biology. 14 (4): R143–144. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2004.01.038. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 15027461.
  38. Immunobiology : the immune system in health and disease. Janeway, Charles. (6th ed.). New York: Garland Science. 2005. ISBN 0815341016. OCLC 60173180.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  39. Janeway, Charles A. (2002). "A Trip Through My Life with an Immunological Theme". Annual Review of Immunology. 20 (1): 1–28. doi:10.1146/annurev.immunol.20.080801.102422. ISSN 0732-0582. PMID 11861595.
  40. Brändén, Carl-Ivar; Tooze, John (1991). Introduction to protein structure. New York: Garland Pub. ISBN 0815303440. OCLC 23286817.
  41. "Appointment of Director or Secretary, New Science Press". Filing at Companies House. 14 December 1998. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  42. "New Science Press launches Proteins: From Sequence to Structure". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  43. Petsko, Gregory A.; Ringe, Dagmar (2004). Protein structure and function. London: New Science Press. ISBN 0878936637. OCLC 53181467.
  44. Morgan, David Owen, 1958- (2007). The cell cycle : principles of control. London: New Science Press. ISBN 9780199206100. OCLC 70173205.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  45. L., DeFranco, Anthony; Locksley, Richard; Robertson, Miranda (2007). Immunity : the immune response in infectious and inflammatory disease. London: New Science Press. ISBN 9780953918102. OCLC 70764453.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  46. Robertson, Miranda (2011-12-01). "Pit-bull reviewing, the pursuit of perfection and the victims of success". BMC Biology. 9 (1): 84. doi:10.1186/1741-7007-9-84. ISSN 1741-7007. PMC 3229515. PMID 22133126.
  47. Walter, P. (2013). "Two structure papers, a call from Frankfurt airport, and how to escape from reviewer delays: an interview with Peter Walter by Miranda Robertson". BMC Biology. 11: 34. doi:10.1186/1741-7007-11-34. ISSN 1741-7007. PMC 3626913. PMID 23587131.
  48. Miranda Robertson (2015-07-23). "The guidance of wise men: Reproducibility, reporting standards, and the views of our Editorial Board". On Biology. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  49. Miranda Robertson (2017-05-03). "The scientific Odyssey: Pre-registering the voyage". On Biology. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  50. Robertson, Miranda (2013-01-31). "Open questions in biology - a tenth anniversary series". BMC Biology. 11 (1): 7. doi:10.1186/1741-7007-11-7. ISSN 1741-7007. PMC 3561168. PMID 23369191.
  51. Miranda Robertson (2009-10-16). "Ockham's broom and the disclosure of dirty secrets – New in Journal of Biology". On Biology. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  52. "BMC Biology". BMC Biology. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
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