Emilie Marcus, who will take over November 1 as editor of Cell, plans to emphasize engagement with the community and to keep the journal's focus broad. Marcus' goal is to ensure that Cell "lives up to its launching moniker as 'the journal of exciting biology,'" she told The Scientist.

As editor of Neuron for 3 years, Marcus and her team became known for open and informed relations with the scientific community through conference attendance, lab visits, and frequent phone calls and e-mails to contributors and reviewers.

"In my mind, scientific journals are services to the community, and we can only provide that service by being in contact with and knowing the community," she said. "You can call here and speak to an editor who knows about the science, is prepared to weigh in on it, and is excited about doing so. That's where the job satisfaction is for...

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