The Publication Committee and the Governing Board of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition (SARMAC) are excited to welcome Dr. Melanie Takarangi, Professor at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, as the incoming Editor of the Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition (JARMAC).
Dr. Takarangi completed her PhD at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand). Her research interests marry cognitive and clinical psychology, investigating how people anticipate and (mis)remember negative and traumatic personal experiences. She is especially interested in exposure to trauma in the workplace or on social media; emotional reactions to trauma; the impact of sharing trauma with others; and the ethics of studying trauma. Having worked with more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students, Dr. Takarangi is particularly enthusiastic about mentoring. She runs an active, programmatic research laboratory based on the scientific culture of apprenticeship. You can see more about Dr. Takarangi’s research here.
Dr. Takarangi is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the Psychonomic Society. She served on SARMAC’s governing board for eight years, first as the inaugural early-career member, and then as a regular member. She has been an Associate Editor at JARMAC since January 2022. Dr. Takarangi is committed to JARMAC’s unique vision and format, and wants the journal to continue attracting top work from leading scientists internationally. She also looks forward to working with students, emerging scientists, and people from under-represented communities to help them find their voice as writers, and to ensure JARMAC continues to publish a wide range of perspectives. Dr. Takarangi is firmly dedicated to the principles of Open Science which, when combined with the foci identified above, will support JARMAC in promoting rigorous and robust psychological science, relevant across a variety of applied and cultural contexts.
We extend our sincere thanks to Dr. Qi Wang, out-going Editor of JARMAC, who has served the journal tirelessly since 2021. Dr. Wang’s dedication and unwavering guidance, especially during the publisher transition to APA and the “COVID years,” played a pivotal role in raising the profile of JARMAC and broadening its scope, diversifying authors and topics. During Dr. Wang’s tenure, JARMAC saw a steady increase in submissions and published articles. Her ingenuity and commitment set JARMAC at the center stage in disseminating impactful research on the timeliest real-world questions even during challenging times, as exemplified by the COVID-19 Express and COVID-19 Special Forum that she launched in the midst of the pandemic. She actively promoted the internationalization of the journal, introducing the special forum Applied Cognitive Science Around the Globe. Dr. Wang also helped increase the visibility of the journal through social media and other forms of communication. She is leaving us a very healthy journal, and we are grateful for her work.
Dr. Wang’s term officially ends December 31, 2025. She will continue accepting new manuscripts and revisions until then. To facilitate the transition, Dr. Takarangi’s term as incoming editor begins July 1, 2025. Ideas for new target articles or special issues should be communicated to Dr. Takarangi beginning July 1.
Many thanks to the search committee for their diligence and hard work: Margaret Bull Kovera, Andrew Conway, Steve Lindsay, Jim Sauer, and Karen Mitchell (chair).