Join the team
Whether you're interested in science communications or want a chance to practise writing alongside peer feedback, our society welcomes you! Our student-led society consists of four teams representing the different stages of the production pipeline - Writers, Editors, Proofreaders and Designers - each with their own opportunities and responsibilities. Aside from our permanent writing team, we also accept freelance articles from anybody studying life sciences at University based on any relevant topic you may be interested in exploring.
Writers
Research and write articles regularly for our issues, and work together to produce shorter form content for special editions and social media.
Editors
Review article submissions, checking the validity of sources and information as well as improving the scientific communication through an anonymous peer-review process.​
Proofreaders
Ensure a high standard of grammar, punctuation and spelling is maintained to preserve clarity of writing, without making major changes to the phrasing of the text.
Designers
Follow self-directed aesthetic guidelines for consistent branding, provide input on creative direction, and create new material for public engagement.
Writers
Student writers are at the heart of LifeSci Lens, providing their unique voices and insights across a diverse range of life sciences disciplines. Writing for us is a great opportunity for you to share your scientific interests and opinions with our readers, while also improving your scientific communication skills and enriching your CV.
We welcome applications for our full-time Writer team year-round; this newly established team will work together to produce short form content for special editions of our magazine and social media posts. Additionally, they will be expected to contribute at least one full-length article per issue.
We also accept freelance articles from any UoB student; our Editors, Proofreaders and Designers will provide feedback during our anonymised editorial process, to maintain academic integrity and consistently publish high quality work.
Once your article has been approved (usually a few weeks after the final draft is ready), it will be uploaded to our website under the 'Articles' section. Once we have collected enough articles (between 9-13), our senior team groups them into broad categories to be published in our upcoming issue.
Although submissions are handled individually, Writers can submit as many articles as they want, across multiple issues.
Our promise to Writers
​As writers are such an integral part of our work, we are devoted to aiding your efforts and ensuring that our process treats you fairly.
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Feedback and guidance from our editors to show how you can get the most out of your articles, coupled with a peer review process to provide multiple perspectives and protect scientific integrity.
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Anonymity throughout the editing process in order to avoid any bias and ensure fairness; all submissions will be treated equally.
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​Chance to respond to editorial suggestions you legitimately disagree with to explain your point of view, ensuring your final article remains faithful to your own unique ideas.
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Helpful and friendly senior team always available to assist you with any questions or concerns you might have, including to resolve disagreements with your editors or to manage complaints.
"What can I write about?"
You are free to write about any topic related to the life sciences that you are interested in; we aim to publish a diverse range of article topics, styles, and voices. Articles can either be written individually or co-authored; they are typically around 700 words, but this is flexible depending on the content, and your editor will assist you in keeping your work concise and engaging.
Cutting edge scientific research
Reviews of key past discoveries
Future prospects for developing fields
Opinion pieces on ethical controversies
Interplay between science and modern society
Scientific book reviews
Struggling for an idea? Check out our topic suggestions padlet and see if you would be interested in researching and writing about any of these, before submitting your article proposal.
Personal experiences from the scientific working world
Interviews with real world researchers
...and anything else you are passionate about!
Editors
Each article goes through a rigorous editing process reliant on our exceptional team of Editors that provide tailored feedback for each Writer to review. By fully anonymising this process, we aim to reduce biases and maintain proper academic integrity within our society.​
Editors can engage with multiple articles per issue depending on availability, making comments as either a primary editor or peer reviewer. After engaging in bidirectional communication with the Writer that may lead to the production of multiple redrafts, the article is approved for the proofreading round. ​
Proofreaders
Proofreading is a crucial stage in our editorial process, ensuring all published work is maintained to a high standard of professionalism that builds trust in our content. There is a large overlap of Editors and Proofreaders, with final-year undergraduates often taking on the role as a less time-intensive way to engage with our society.
The Proofreader team is ideally suited to detail-oriented people that enjoy following guidance to ensure grammatical correctness, standardised formatting and syntactical flow without altering the main message of the text.
Proofreaders will always be credited for the work they have done - a great way to boost the CV and stand out to employers.
Designers
The Design & Digital Marketing team are involved at every stage of the editorial process: from creating social media posts and lecture slides that increase our visibility and magazine front covers that capture readers' attention, to providing feedback on Writers' figures before uploading and visually formatting their articles.
Ensuring brand consistency that builds recognition and trust in our magazine is at the heart of what the Designer team does. If you like to creatively contribute to major aesthetic decisions and drive visual appeal in our cause, this is the place for you.
Due to the multifaceted nature of this team, it is split into two broad groups - Social Media & Outreach (SMO), and Magazine & Website (MW) - that you can specify your preference for during your application.
How we support you
When you join any of our teams, you become part of a collaborative network of students all working towards the same goal of preparing our next issue. To that end, support is always available if needed in the form of:
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Guidance for the basics of editing and proofreading, showing examples of good practice as well as outlining the criteria for determining whether an article is ready for publication.
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Drop-in sessions for team members to ask for clarification or advice about your work or the project as a whole, to meet colleagues, and to give feedback or make suggestions for the future.
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Flexible assignment of articles, so that if you're too busy at any time to complete a task, this can be communicated and the work easily handed over to someone else.
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Helpful and friendly senior team available at all times to deal with any queries or problems you might have.
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We always welcome your comments and feedback; feel free to drop us an email at lifesci.lens@gmail.com, or send as a message through instagram @lifescilens.
Contribute your ideas
Want to get involved but don't have the time to take on a role?
Give our writers a topic suggestion today!
Check out our FAQs section for more information related to our process and organisation.
UoB students can also receive regular updates and opportunities to get involved by signing up for our free SU membership.