Hi! I'm Jayne. 

I am a research scientist with more than 30 academic publications, including first-author papers in Nature and Science.

I've served on all sides of the process for over a decade, including as author, reviewer, and editor. And I've mentored many postgraduates through the publication of their first journal article. 

Publishing is one of the most important, if not the most important aspects of an academic career. Publish, or perish, right?

(PS. Perish!? That's dark. Can we all agree to stop saying this?)

But the whole process can be massively overwhelming. And universities rarely offer effective, practical support. Professors are too time-poor to offer the support needed. 

This was my experience, at least, and the effect was that I had to self-teach all along the way. But, I know it doesn't have to be that way...

I founded But First, Publish to help fill this gap. I help early career academics and postgraduate students smash their publishing goals

Ready to start making progress now? Click here to learn about my free guide.

My Career Highlights

My archaeological research on human evolution straddles the sciences and social sciences. Specifically, I investigate the origins of our species Homo sapiens.

I published my first journal article as first-author when I was a PhD student. That paper was based on an essay I had written for a course. That same year I published another based on my Master's thesis. Since then I've published more than 30 journal articles, book chapters, and books.

You can learn more about my academic publications on my Google Scholar page.

My research career has taken me to amazing institutions across the world in the US, Canada, South Africa, and Australia.

For me the most rewarding aspect of my academic career has been the opportunity to positively impact student's lives. In 2018 I was awarded a Merit Award for my teaching.

One of my long terms goals was to publish in the high-impact journal Nature as first author. In 2021 I conquered that goal!

I founded But First, Publish in 2022.

See my C.V.

My mission

My mission is to reduce the overwhelm associated with academic publishing. I aim to have a positive impact on the world by helping emerging leaders communicate their results and accomplish their publishing goals. 

Learn how I can help

Grab the Free Guide

Learn how to submit a high-quality academic journal article the easier and faster way.

You can get published and it doesn't have to be as hard as you think.

You have actually done A LOT of the hard work already!

In this guide, I show you how to leverage the work you've already done to create an awesome journal article that you will be proud of.

Send it to me!

Connect with me

Follow me on Insta @drjaynewilkins