About the journal
The Plant Cell is a leading international society journal that publishes novel research of special significance in plant biology, especially in the areas of cellular biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, development, and evolution. The Plant Cell editorial board is committed to providing fast turnaround times, true peer review by top plant scientists, and first-class post-acceptance science editing. The primary criteria for publication are that the article provides new insight that is of broad interest to plant biologists, not only to specialists, and that the presentation of results is appropriate for a wide audience of plant biologists. The Plant Cell is a publication of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB).
Journal Impact Factor: 11.1 (5-yr); 10.0 (2-yr).
Assistant Features Editor Program
The Plant Cell creates a place for early career researchers to advance their career and help disseminate exciting discoveries published in the journal through the Assistant Features Editor (AFE) Program.
The AFE program presents a wonderful experience for postdocs and advanced graduate students, the majority of whom have secured tenure-track positions or permanent positions in industry upon completing the program.
AFEs publish News and Views in the journal’s issues communicating to readers some of the most exciting The Plant Cell papers, receive professional advice on scientific writing from our seasoned editors, and are able to find opportunities to network with our regular editors. AFEs are invited to attend editorial board meetings, and for the in-person meeting your travel expenses are covered by the journal.
The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology will be alternating years during which they will recruit AFE’s, with 2025 being the time for The Plant Cell recruiting AFEs to start in 2026 and 2027.
To stay aware of when applications are open for either journal be sure to keep an eye on announcements from the ASPB Blog. You can view an example announcement for Plant Physiology applications in this announcement blog post.
