Celebrating peer review week
JBI recognises the vital role of peer reviewers in an AI era
As the global research community comes together to celebrate Peer Review Week (PRW) 2025, JBI is proud to highlight the vital contributions of its peer reviewers and reflect on this year’s theme: ‘Rethinking Peer Review in the AI Era’.
At JBI, peer review is imperative to our mission of advancing evidence-based healthcare globally. We rely on the time, expertise, and commitment of peer reviewers to ensure the quality and reliability of our evidence-based resources, including the JBI EBP Database, and our peer-reviewed journals JBI Evidence Synthesis and JBI Evidence Implementation.
Dr Kylie Porritt, Director of Transfer Science at JBI, says Peer Review Week 2025 is an opportunity to reflect on how AI is reshaping scholarly communication. She notes that new technologies can enhance efficiency, accessibility, and support the development of evidence-based resources to inform decision-making, such as JBI Evidence Summaries within the JBI EBP Database.
Dr Porritt continues, “Looking ahead, we are excited by the opportunities AI may bring to enhance the reach and accessibility of evidence-based resources, while continuing to rely on the expertise, judgement, and lived experience of our reviewers to ensure the rigour, quality and trustworthiness of the evidence we share with clinicians and policymakers worldwide.”
Managing Editor of JBI Evidence Synthesis, Mara Lambert, highlights that the 2025 theme is timely given the rapidly changing advancements in technology, along with noted concerns about research integrity and accuracy. “Amongst these advancements, we can’t forget about the people who volunteer their time and expertise to ensuring the quality of scholarly publishing."
In celebration of Peer Review Week 2025, JBI Evidence Synthesis honours outstanding peer reviewer, Dr Mark McMillan, 'Research Fellow and Clinical Research Nurse at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital and The University of Adelaide, Australia, for the quantity and quality of his peer review.
“Peer review is under pressure. Discussions about AI risk drawing attention away from bigger issues, such as a system that fails to reward the time and effort careful reviewing requires,” said Dr McMillan. “What AI should not become is an excuse to ignore these underlying problems, or to cut back on paid editors, statistical reviewers, and specialist staff who safeguard quality.”
While AI offers the potential to streamline reviewer workflows and support decision-making, JBI echoes the broader sentiment that people—our reviewers, editors, and researchers—remain at the heart of scholarly quality and progress.
As we celebrate Peer Review Week 2025, JBI extends heartfelt thanks to our peer reviewers across the globe. Their unwavering dedication ensures that research is published with rigour, transparency, and integrity.