Manuscript Peer Review Training to Build the Skills Behind Better Science

Perspectives from Peerspectives: Peer Review Training to Build the Skills Behind Better Science August 31, 2026 1:00 PM EDT | 7:00 PM CEST Peer review is one of the cornerstones of scientific publishing, yet most researchers receive little or no formal training in how to conduct high-quality manuscript reviews. In this webinar, Dr. Jess Rohmann and Dr. Toivo Glatz will introduce Peerspectives, an innovative, researcher-led peer review training program that equips early-career researchers with the skills to provide rigorous, constructive, and fair reviews through mentorship and hands-on experience with real manuscripts. The speakers will discuss the motivation behind the program, its collaboration with scientific journals, and findings from its formal evaluation. They will also present freely available train-the-trainer materials and share practical insights for educators interested in implementing similar initiatives. More broadly, the webinar will explore how structured peer review training can strengthen critical appraisal and methodological skills, improve research quality, and foster a more constructive research culture. Speakers Jess Rohmann, PhDDr. Jess Rohmann is an epidemiologist and meta-researcher at the QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, where she leads the Responsible Health Data Analysis Team. Her research focuses on improving the validity, transparency, and reproducibility of observational health research. She is particularly interested in promoting rigorous analytical methods, responsible research assessment, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Dr. Rohmann leads the Berlin-based Einstein Circle: Causal Inference from Observational Health Dataand is the co-founder of several initiatives, including Peerspectives, the Berlin Epidemiological Methods Colloquium, and the Charité PhD Program in Health Data Sciences. Toivo Glatz, PhDDr. Toivo Glatz is a researcher and educator with expertise in public health, epidemiology, quantitative methods, and responsible research practice. Based at the Digital Health Cluster at the Hasso Plattner Institute, Universität Potsdam, and formerly at the Institute of Public Health at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, he has extensive experience teaching research methods, statistics, and R to master's and doctoral students. He co-leads Peerspectives, a peer review training initiative for early-career biomedical researchers, and has delivered workshops and invited lectures on the topic internationally. His work focuses on strengthening methodological rigor, research quality, open science, and the meaningful involvement of early-career researchers in scholarly publishing. Register via Zoom today to reserve your place. Please note that attendance is tracked through Zoom for the purpose of issuing Certificates of Attendance. Register now at https://jh.zoom.us/web.../register/WN_v_YtGXKcS6KWtZKK3F4j9A and join us to learn how structured peer review training can help build the skills behind better science.