Meet the New ME of NJB

Nordic Journal of Botany has a new Managing Editor! Friederike Gehrmann began her new role in December 2021, taking over from Tina D'Hertefeldt, who stepped down last fall.

Hailing from Germany, Gehrmann studied biochemistry in London and then moved to Helsinki to complete a PhD in biotechnology. “I went to northern Finland, to Finnish Lapland, to study Arctic plants there. I specialized in plant and snow interactions.”

“I really liked my fieldwork in the north,” Gehrmann said. The experience prompted her to obtain a postdoc in Abisko, Sweden, and after spending time in this village of about one hundred people, she wanted to stay. The trick was that job opportunities for scientists in Abisko tend to be limited to short-term, stipend-based positions.

“I was always a bit curious, doing something outside of academic research,” Gehrmann said, “and one of my friends actually pointed me to this position,” working remotely for the Oikos Editorial Office as the Managing Editor of NJB. "I really like it,” she said. “I was really happy to have something permanent, still related to science, and be able to stay in the north.”

Gehrmann enjoys science communication and notes that being an academic researcher provides “a perception of the whole manuscript handling process" from the author perspective; her new role on the editorial side involves many "transferrable skills like project planning and leadership,” she said, “and also some creativity, I would say, to come up with different ways of thinking, different ways of doing things, to develop our strategy.”

Outside of work, Gehrmann is busy outdoors. “I love ice climbing! I didn't know that existed before I moved to Abisko,” she said. “And I have a dog, so I just I go on a lot of hikes and walks.” There are indoor activities, too: “When we have long, dark winters—sometimes we have a lot of winter storms where you really don't want to go outside—we play a lot of board games.”

With Gehrmann's arrival, Nordic Journal of Botany is undergoing some changes in scope and strategy. Stay tuned for details on how NJB will bring plant ecology into sharper focus alongside the journal’s established specialty in taxonomy. “We will put a lot of effort into promoting the ecological submissions that we get,” Gehrmann said. “And we will plan some more special issues, so I hope that future authors will keep an eye out for those.”

“I'm really excited about the work,” she said. “I like challenges. I like that I can develop [the journal] and at the same time develop myself more.”