Nobel laureate: Break free from the stifling grip of luxury journals

UC Berkeley

Randy Schekman is a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and editor of the journal eLife. He was one of the recipients of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Last week was the most memorable week of my scientific career. Accompanied by family, friends and colleagues, I was honored with the award of a Nobel Prize in an unforgettable ceremony and banquet. That same week, I also chose to express highly critical views about deficiencies I perceive in the system scientists use for publishing and rewarding scientific research, for which I was both attacked and praised.

My remarks focused on the power of certain journals, which I refer to as luxury journals, that have distorted how science and scientists operate.