Journal editors will attempt to demystify the academic publishing process for researchers, particularly early-career scholars and neuroscientists interested in learning more about publishing in ethics journals. Panelists will discuss key topics, including scope and fit, editorial best practices, and an upcoming Graduate Student Special Issue.
- Michael Pflanzer, MA
- Anna Wexler, PhD
- Nathan Higgins, PhD
- Katrina Sifferd, PhD
- Veljko Dubljevic, PhD, DPhil
Agenda
- Introduction / 5 minutes
- Presentations / 25 minutes
- Panel discussion / 10 minutes
- Audience Q&A / 20 minutes
Attend
Thursday, April 16, 2026
12:15-1:15pm PDT
Time check »
Neuroethics 2026
Building Bridges and Cultivating Community
This session is part of the Neuroethics 2026 conference organized by the INS and hosted by the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. Register for the conference to attend in-person at Stanford University in Stanford, California, U.S., or to participate virtually.
Description
This panel discussion — featuring the editorial leadership of the American Journal of Bioethics (AJOB) Neuroscience — aims to demystify the academic publishing process for researchers at all career stages, particularly early-career scholars or neuroscientists interested in learning more about publishing in ethics journals. While focusing primarily on AJOB Neuroscience, the official journal of the INS, the session will also provide insight into the editorial standards for publishing high-impact neuroethics work.
The rapid advancement of neuroscience research and the growing global community of neuroethics scholars makes this session especially relevant. Many promising submissions are rejected not because of poor scholarship but because of fundamental misunderstandings of the editorial scope, target audience, and the structuring of ethical arguments. Many submissions present novel advances in neuroscience or applications of neurological technology but fail to adequately engage with the ethical discourse necessary for publication in a bioethics or neuroethics journal. The panel directly addresses this knowledge gap.
Editors will discuss key topics, including:
Scope and Fit – Determining whether a submission is suited for AJOB Neuroscience‘s focus on the ethical, legal, and social implications of brain function and technology, and understanding the differences between submission types (e.g., Target Articles, Insight Articles, Education or Policy Forums, or Open Peer Commentaries).
Editorial Best Practices – Common reasons for desk rejections, strategies for managing revisions, and expectations and standards of peer review, including the journal’s generative AI policy.
Upcoming Special Issue – Editors will introduce a call for papers for a Graduate Student Special Issue, in which graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will have an opportunity to professionalize by submitting original research and serving as both reviewers and members of a guest editorial board.
The session aims to improve the quality and relevance of future neuroethics submissions, foster productive dialogue among authors, reviewers, and editors, and support the growth and intellectual rigor of the INS community worldwide. Each panelist will focus on one aspect of publication (e.g., book and media reviews, open peer commentaries, special issues, or the generative AI policy of Taylor & Francis and AJOB Neuroscience).
Speakers
Michael Pflanzer, MA
Managing Editor, American Journal of Bioethics – Neuroscience
North Carolina State University
Michael Pflanzer is a PhD student in the Communications, Rhetoric, and Digital Media program at NCSU. He is studying science literacy and the public perception of the credibility of science in my research. He is interested in learning not simply how to communicate science effectively to laypeople, but also how to teach scientists to communicate their research effectively.
Anna Wexler, PhD
Associate Editor, American Journal of Bioethics – Neuroscience
University of Pennsylvania
Anna Wexler is the principal investigator of the Wexler Lab, where she studies the ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding emerging technology. She is particularly interested in do-it-yourself (DIY) medicine, citizen science, direct-to-consumer (DTC) health products, online patient communities, neuroscience technology, and alternative neurotherapies.
Nathan Higgins
Managing Editor, Neuroethics
Monash University
Nathan Higgins is a postdoctoral research fellow with the Monash Bioethics Centre. Nathan’s work explores the responsible research and innovation of neurotechnologies, primarily neurosurgical systems such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and deep brain stimulation (DBS). His doctoral work examined the problem of post-trial responsibility in clinical trials of implantable brain-based devices. He has served as the Chair of the International Neuroethics Society’s Student & Postdoc Committee since 2023, and is currently the Managing Editor of the journal Neuroethics.
Katrina Sifferd, PhD
Editor-in-Chief, Neuroethics
Elmhurst University
Katrina Sifferd holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of London, King’s College. After finishing her Ph.D., Katrina held a post-doctoral position as Rockefeller Fellow in Law and Public Policy and Visiting Professor at Dartmouth College. She is Co-Editor in Chief of Neuroethics with neuroscientist Adrian Carter (Monash). Before becoming a philosopher, Katrina earned a Juris Doctorate and worked as a senior research analyst on criminal justice projects for the U.S. National Institute of Justice. Katrina is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on responsibility, criminal law, punishment, neuroethics, and neurolaw.
Veljko Dubljevic, PhD, DPhil
Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Bioethics – Neuroscience
North Carolina State University
Veljko Dubljević, PhD, DPhil, University Faculty Scholar and Joseph D. Moore Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and STS at NC State University, leads the NeuroComputational Ethics Research Group. He is the Editor in Chief of American Journal of Bioethics – Neuroscience, series co-editor for “Advances in Neuroethics,” and serves on the Board of Directors of the International Neuroethics Society.
Resources
American Journal of Bioethics – Neuroscience
AJOB Neuroscience provides a comprehensive resource for scholars, practitioners, and others interested in ethics and the brain sciences. We interpret the scope of the field broadly, and seek wide-ranging contributions exploring the ethical, social and legal dimensions of neuroscience.
Our goal is to inspire and inform research and writing across disciplines through target articles, peer commentary, book reviews, qualitative research, and other innovative formats.
As a primary resource in the field, AJOB Neuroscience publishes announcements, career opportunities, and the latest news and developments in the discipline.
Neuroethics
Neuroethics is a forum for interdisciplinary studies in neuroethics and related issues in the sciences of the mind. The focus is on ethical issues posed by new technologies developed via neuroscience, such as psycho-pharmaceuticals and other ways of intervening in the mind; the practice of neuroscience itself, including problems posed by incidental findings in imaging work on research subjects; regulation of neuroscientific technologies, and ways in which the sciences of the mind illuminate traditional moral and philosophical problems, such as the nature of free will and moral responsibility, self-deception, weakness of the will and the nature of personhood.
This important publication covers the dual areas of neuroethics: the ethics of neuroscience and the neuroscience of ethics. It offers comprehensive bibliographies, reviews of significant literature, information on activities including partial proceedings of selected meetings, and an opinions section for reader commentaries.
Keywords: neuroethics, publishing, AI policy, professionalization
Recording
A recording of this session will be made available to registered attendees.