Staff Editors

PLOS is a tax-exempt, 501(c)3, nonprofit corporation. PLOS' overall revenues and funding information are listed in the PLOS Annual Update.

The PLOS Medicine editors are paid a fixed salary (in particular, their salary is not linked to the number of papers published in the journal). Editors are required to declare all relevant competing interests and do not participate in the review of any paper for which they have a competing interest.

The competing interests statements were updated as stated below, and relate to activities over the previous 12 months. However, relevant competing interests from previous years will also be taken into account when deciding whether it is appropriate for an editor to handle a paper.

Philippa Dodd

Senior Editor
orcid.org/0000-0003-1580-9390

Pippa joined PLOS Medicine in 2022 as Associate Editor. She is a Consultant Physician with dual accreditation in Renal Medicine and Acute General Medicine. She received her undergraduate medical degree from St. Bartholomew’s and The Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London in 2005 and continued her post-graduate medical training in London. In 2010, she secured a specialist training number in Renal Medicine, developing a sub-specialist interest in renal transplantation and its complications. In 2016, Pippa was awarded a Kidney Research UK clinical research training fellowship, successfully completing her PhD in Transplantation Immunology at King's College London where she investigated mechanisms of chronic allograft rejection affecting renal transplants. Pippa was awarded Certificate of Completion of specialist medical training in 2021. Her interests include multimorbidity, chronic non-communicable diseases, immunology, infectious diseases, mental health and health inequalities.

Competing Interests

Updated: September 2023

Monetary or in kind compensation for self or household member from an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially or in any other way from the publication of papers in PLOS Medicine

Reimbursement for attending a conference or symposium. No.
Accommodation and travel. No.
Fees for speaking. No.
Fees for organizing education. No.
Funds for research or for a member of staff. No.
Fees for consulting. No.

Employment of self or household member by an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of papers in PLOS Medicine

No.

Stocks or shares

No.

Other competing interests

No.

Louise Gaynor-Brook

Senior Editor
orcid.org/0000-0002-6617-3110

Louise joined PLOS Medicine as an Associate Editor in July 2019, and brings experience in clinical medicine, basic science research and health policy to her role as a Senior Editor. She received her undergraduate degree in Medicine from King’s College London in 2010, having taken a year out to study for an intercalated BSc in Maternal and Fetal Health. Louise continued her academic interest in obstetrics to study the immunogenetic regulation of Natural Killer cell function in pregnancy, and received a PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2017. Following her graduate degree, Louise moved into health policy at the PHG Foundation, where she conducted in-depth analyses of biomedical technologies and international policies relating to preventive and personalised healthcare. Louise handles manuscripts in all areas within the scope of PLOS Medicine, but her key interests are in maternal and child health, and translational medicine.

Competing Interests

Updated: April 2025

Monetary or in kind compensation for self or household member from an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially or in any other way from the publication of papers in PLOS Medicine

Reimbursement for attending a conference or symposium. No.
Accommodation and travel. No.
Fees for speaking. No.
Fees for organizing education. No.
Funds for research or for a member of staff. No.
Fees for consulting. No.

Employment of self or household member by an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of papers in PLOS Medicine

No.

Stocks or shares

I have contributed to a workplace pension scheme. I do not determine or keep track of the individual companies in which they invest.

Other competing interests

No.

Alison Farrell

Senior Editor
orcid.org/0009-0005-5549-7020

Alison received her BSc in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University, and her PhD in Biochemistry from University of California, San Francisco, where she studied cell cycle regulation. She pursued postdoctoral work on chemokines and their receptors at LeukoSite in Cambridge, MA, and on gene silencing and sirtuins in the Cell Biology Department at Harvard Medical School, before launching a career in science publishing at Nature Medicine in 2001. Alison is also a freelance editor and consultant and is very excited to bring her experience as an editor of research on cancer, transplantation, infectious disease and the microbiome to PLOS Medicine. Alison joined PLOS Medicine in December 2024 as a consultant Senior Editor, part time.

Competing Interests

Updated: April 2025

Monetary or in kind compensation for self or household member from an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially or in any other way from the publication of papers in PLOS Medicine

Reimbursement for attending a conference or symposium. No.
Accommodation and travel. No.
Fees for speaking. No.
Fees for organizing education. No.
Funds for research or for a member of staff. No.
Fees for consulting. Yes.

Employment of self or household member by an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of papers in PLOS Medicine

No.

Stocks or shares

I have contributed to investments, where I do not determine or monitor the individual companies included in the scheme.

Other competing interests

No.

Suzanne De Bruijn

Associate Editor
orcid.org/0000-0002-7429-0448

Suzanne studied biomolecular life sciences in Amsterdam (Netherlands), followed by a PhD in plant molecular development and evolution in Wageningen (Netherlands). She then moved to Norwich (UK) for a postdoc in epigenetics, during which she explored an editorial career. She was an Assistant features Editor for The Plant Cell and did an internship with PLOS Biology in 2022. She has since worked for PLOS Biology as a freelancer and an Associate Editor, before joining the PLOS Medicine team in December 2024.

Competing Interests

Updated: March 2025

Monetary or in kind compensation for self or household member from an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially or in any other way from the publication of papers in PLOS Medicine

Reimbursement for attending a conference or symposium. No.
Accommodation and travel. No.
Fees for speaking. No.
Fees for organizing education. No.
Funds for research or for a member of staff. No.
Fees for consulting. No.

Employment of self or household member by an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of papers in PLOS Medicine

No.

Stocks or shares

I contribute to a workplace pension scheme. I do not determine or monitor the individual companies included in the scheme.

Other competing interests

No.

Alexandra Tosun

Associate Editor
orcid.org/0000-0002-5932-9607

Alex studied Biology (BSc) in Münster, Germany, followed by a Master's degree in Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Bielefeld, Germany. She returned to Münster for her PhD at the Institute of Musculoskeletal Medicine (WWU Münster), where she studied the functional interaction of integrin and chemokine signaling in the regulation of cartilage homeostasis. During her time as a PhD student, Alex was introduced to peer-review training and developed a keen interest in scientific communication and publication, which led her to join the Public Health and Medicine team at PLOS ONE as an Editor in October 2022. Alex has thrived in her role as an editor and is very excited to be working in the ever-evolving world of scientific communication as an Associate Editor for PLOS Medicine.

Competing Interests

Updated: March 2025

Monetary or in kind compensation for self or household member from an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially or in any other way from the publication of papers in PLOS Medicine

Reimbursement for attending a conference or symposium. No.
Accommodation and travel. No.
Fees for speaking. No.
Fees for organizing education. No.
Funds for research or for a member of staff. No.
Fees for consulting. No.

Employment of self or household member by an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of papers in PLOS Medicine

No.

Stocks or shares

No.

Other competing interests

No.