Prestigious award for Digital Science's Amy Brand

Amy Brand of Digital Science has been given the Award for Meritorious Achievement by the Council of Science Editors. This award is the highest given by the CSE, and is presented to a person or institution that embraces the purposes of the CSE – the improvement of scientific communication through the pursuit of high standards in all activities connected with editing.

With nearly 25 years’ experience, Brand currently holds the position of VP academic and research relations at technology company Digital Science, where she is responsible for overseeing the North American operations. With broad experience in scholarly communication and academic publishing, university administration, entrepreneurial innovation and management of complex initiatives, Brand also acts as the company’s domain expert on North American universities and their research, administrative and policy requirements.
 
'Amy Brand has been at the forefront of developing digital solutions linking the research community to the publishing community,' said Ken Heideman, awards chairman at the Council of Science Editors. “She was a key person in the implementation of CrossRef, a service now widely regarded as indispensable. She was also on the founding board of ORCID, another initiative that will soon be recognised as critically important in STM publishing. In a nutshell, Amy’s work and career exemplify the mission of CSE and she is very deserving of its highest honour.'
 
'We are so proud Amy has won this prestigious award recognising her significant contributions to academic research,' said Timo Hannay, managing director at Digital Science. 'She has had a long and varied career immersed in scientific and scholarly communications, and brings true insight into the perspectives of all stakeholders in academic research. At Digital Science, she is helping apply that knowledge to continue to provide tools that offer support at every stage of the research cycle.'
 
Prior to Digital Science, Brand held the position of assistant provost for faculty appointments and information at Harvard University. She also has held positions at CrossRef; Ingenta; and the MIT Press. She holds a doctorate in cognitive science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a bachelor of art in linguistics from the Barnard College of Columbia University.