Sahba Besharati, PhD

Besharati is a former editorial fellow of Neuropsychology. At the end of her term, she was invited to be a consulting editor of the journal. We asked Sahba about her experience as a fellow.

Tell us a bit about your background and research interests.

I am a neuropsychologist, social affective neuroscientist, and the cofounder and joint leader of Wits NeuRL (Neuroscience Research Laboratory) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. I draw on interdisciplinary methods to investigate the developmental and neural bases of self-consciousness, emotion, and social cognition in clinical, pediatric, and healthy populations. I am actively involved with capacity building for unrepresented researchers in the neurosciences.

What knowledge or skills have you gained through your experience with APA’s Editorial Fellowship Program?

On a practical level, the program has taught me the critical-thinking skills needed when acting as an editor of a paper, which is very different from leading a paper or supervising a student project. It also has taught me important collaborative skills for working with a wider team when making challenging editorial decisions.  

Tell us about a highlight of your experience in the program.

One highlight has been meeting and building a relationship with my fellow editorial fellows. We even had the opportunity to attend a conference together where we presented a symposium that engaged the participants in conversations around lived experience and matters of equity, diversity, and inclusion in neuropsychology.    

How has the mentorship provided by this program been valuable to you?

Both the peer and senior mentorship were very valuable. They not only extended my professional network, which I will draw on for years to come, but they also helped me combat some fears from imposter syndrome. The editor-in-chief of Neuropsychology (Keith Yeates) at the time also provided group mentorship during our regular meetings, which was fantastic to watch in action and to learn from.  

What next steps in your career has this program prepared you for?

I think this program will help me prepare and publish better papers in the future, as well as help my students in this process. Especially as early career researchers, we are still naive about the rich complexities involved in the editorial and publishing processes.

How has your fellowship prepared you for future editorial work?

This fellowship has helped me understand the publishing process much better, for example, how hard it can be to find reviewers and how long the publishing process can take. It also has allowed me to think critically around the implicit biases that can influence the decision-making process when handling papers.

Do you plan to stay involved with APA Publishing? If yes, how so?

Yes! After completing the fellowship program, I was invited to stay on the editorial team of Neuropsychology as a consulting editor. I also plan to be more willing to accept reviewer invitations from APA Journals.  

Do you have any advice for future fellows?

Because being a fellow involves a lot of extra work, make sure your managers know you are taking on this role so you can adjust your workload accordingly. In this way you can really take advantage of the opportunity and also learn more.

Do you have any words of wisdom for early career researchers?

Do not be scared to submit to high-impact journals. For those of us from underrepresented groups, fears from imposter syndrome often can hold us back. Do not let them! Be confident in the quality of your science and aim to publish in well-respected journals.