Have you ever wondered what a typical workday looks like for a journal editor?

Meet Melissa Vazquez Hernandez, an editor at PLOS Biology. She specializes in microbiology—including virology, mycology, and parasitology—as well as immunology. In this talk, she will share insights into her career transition from being a scientist to becoming an editor, and what her role involves behind the scenes.

Date: 12 June 2026

Time: 11:00 – 12:00

Location: B0621 in Forum, Wageningen Campus

About Melissa Vazquez Hernandez

Raised in a small city in Mexico, Melissa received a BSc in Biotechnology from the Autonomous University of Queretaro where she studied the enzymatic capacities of the fungus Aspergillus. After graduating she moved to Mexico City to do a MSc in Biochemistry at the National Autonomous University of Mexico on Streptomyces and genome mining. She then did her PhD at Ruhr University Bochum in Germany under the supervision of Julia Bandow and Ken Keiler, studying the physiology of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and novel antimicrobials. After a year as a postdoc, she switched careers and joined the PLOS Biology team in December 2023.