In 2025, TGH reviewers continue to make outstanding contributions to the peer review process. They demonstrated professional effort and enthusiasm in their reviews and provided comments that genuinely help the authors to enhance their work.

Hereby, we would like to highlight some of our outstanding reviewers, with a brief interview of their thoughts and insights as a reviewer. Allow us to express our heartfelt gratitude for their tremendous effort and valuable contributions to the scientific process.

Julia Maroto-García, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Spain

Sorabh Kapoor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

Julia Maroto-García

Dr. Julia Maroto-García is a PhD Specialist in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine in the Department of Biochemistry at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra in Madrid, Spain. In 2016, she obtained her degree in Pharmacy from the University Complutense of Madrid, Spain. Between 2017-2021, she completed her specialized training at the Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Victoria in Malaga. Afterwards, she did her PhD studies at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Malaga on the use of free light chains in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, where she was honored CUM laude. Currently, she is focused on neurodegenerative and endocrinology diseases. She has been the President of the Commission of Residents and Young Scientists of the Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine (SEQC), in which she actively collaborates by conducting conferences and scientific presentations. Learn more about her here.

TGH: What do you regard as a healthy peer-review system?

Dr. Maroto-García: A healthy peer-review system is one that maintains rigor, transparency, and fairness while fostering constructive feedback to improve the quality of scientific work. It should ensure that articles are reviewed by experts in the field who are unbiased and objective. The review process should be timely, with clear communication between authors, editors, and reviewers. Furthermore, a healthy system encourages diversity in perspectives, allowing both positive and negative feedback to be delivered professionally and thoughtfully. It should also ensure confidentiality, integrity, and respect for the authors’ work while maintaining accountability in the review process.

TGH: Peer reviewing is often anonymous and non-profitable. What motivates you to do so?

Dr. Maroto-García: The primary motivation for me to engage in peer review is a deep commitment to advancing science and ensuring the integrity of published work. Peer review is a fundamental part of maintaining the credibility and quality of scientific literature, and I feel a sense of responsibility to contribute to this process. By reviewing, I can help identify flaws, suggest improvements, and ensure that the work being published is both scientifically sound and valuable to the community. Additionally, peer reviewing allows me to stay updated on the latest developments in my field, expand my own knowledge, and contribute to the broader scientific community without the expectation of financial gain. The intrinsic reward of supporting the development of high-quality research is what drives me.

(by Lareina Lim, Brad Li)

Sorabh Kapoor

Dr. Sorabh Kapoor is a distinguished abdominal transplant and HPB surgeon specializing in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). After graduating from Government Medical College Jabalpur, he completed rigorous training in general and gastrointestinal surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. His passion for liver transplantation led to the GB Ong Fellowship at Hong Kong’s Queen Mary Hospital, a global leader in LDLT, and hepatocyte transplant research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He further honed his skills through an ASTS-accredited fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University, mastering both living and deceased donor liver and kidney transplantation. He has been pivotal in establishing LDLT programs across India, including centers in New Delhi, Mumbai, southern India, and Ahmedabad. Since 2021, he has served as Surgical Director of the LDLT program at UNC Chapel Hill, focusing on donor safety with complex anatomy and expanding LDLT for oncological cases. His work bridges clinical excellence with research innovation, aiming to redefine transplant indications and enhance donor outcomes in challenging surgical scenarios. Learn more about him here.

TGH: What role does peer review play in science?

Dr. Kapoor: Peer review serves an important purpose in improving the quality of research by ensuring research is conducted in a sound scientific and ethical manner and the results are reported correctly. It also serves as a teaching method, especially for new researchers as a good-quality peer review should serve as a guiding document for enhancing not just the current manuscript but also subsequent submissions. The peer-review process is not a one-way street; the evaluation of different manuscripts from diverse regions keeps the peer reviewers in touch with current research and methodology, and improves the quality of the reviewers’ research as well.

TGH: What reviewers have to bear in mind while reviewing papers?

Dr. Kapoor: It is important to evaluate all manuscripts objectively without bias based on language or personal philosophy regarding a disease or treatment modality. My goal when evaluating a manuscript is to first look at the basics - why the research was done, if the methods were scientifically correct and are the results or data obtained accurate. It is also important to ensure that the conclusions drawn are based on the study results and to ask the question - how does the manuscript advance the knowledge about a disease or condition or its management. The reviewer needs to keep an open mind when evaluating a manuscript and not come to premature conclusions. The reviewer can often serve as a coach for enhancing the manuscript by recommending meaningful suggestions and comments and can hence serve as a conduit for enabling relevant important research to get published for the benefit of all readers. Finally, the peer review should not merely be a criticism, but aim at improving the manuscript and encouraging the authors.

TGH: Would you like to say a few words to encourage other reviewers who have been devoting themselves to advancing scientific progress behind the scene?

Dr. Kapoor: I believe the peer-review process is a cornerstone of scientific research. While it may seem a burden at times in between busy clinical or research commitments, the foundation of scientific knowledge rests on the back of sound, independent, unbiased and unemotional assessment of all research. The end goal of the peer-review process should be to contribute to the advancement of knowledge.

(by Lareina Lim, Brad Li)