Irene Hames is an independent research-publication and peer-review specialist with a PhD in cell biology. For 20 years, Irene was the managing editor of a large international science journal. She has also been a Council Member, Director and Trustee of COPE, the Committee on Publication Ethics. She is the author of the book Peer Review and Manuscript Management in Scientific Journals, and in 2011 she was the specialist advisor to the UK Parliament for its inquiry into peer review. She runs workshops on research integrity and publication ethics, and holds several advisory roles. In 2011 she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, and sits on the Society’s Research Dissemination Committee.