Frontiers wins a gold award and a silver award at the 2026 EPIC Awards of the Society for Scholarly Publishing – for a landmark whitepaper on AI in research and publishing, and a digital campaign making research integrity visible.
Frontiers has won a gold award and a silver award across two categories at the 2026 Excellence in Publishing, Information Technology & Communications (EPIC) Awards , presented by the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) during its 48th Annual Meeting in Chula Vista, California, US, on 28 May 2026.
A roadmap for responsible AI use in research and publishing
Frontiers’ whitepaper Unlocking AI’s untapped potential: responsible innovation in research and publishing received the gold award in the Reports category. Published in December 2025, it is the first large-scale study to examine AI adoption, trust, training, and governance across authoring, reviewing, and editorial workflows.
Drawing on a global survey of 1,645 active researchers, the whitepaper found that 53% of peer reviewers already use AI tools. AI adoption is rising rapidly across the wider research community, reaching 87% among early-career researchers. Frontiers translates these findings into evidence-based policy recommendations for publishers, institutions, funders, and tool developers – a practical roadmap to align publishing policy with how researchers are already using AI, and to unlock AI’s full potential to strengthen scientific rigor, reproducibility, and trust.
Elena Vicario , Director of Research Integrity at Frontiers, said:
“The whitepaper shows that AI use in research is already happening, at scale, across every region and career stage. The question is whether our policies are keeping pace, and how we translate this momentum into stronger, more transparent, and more equitable research practices. Winning the gold award signals that the industry is ready to address that question now, and Frontiers is proud to be leading that conversation.”
Guardians of Science: making research integrity visible
AI-generated content, misinformation, and papermills are reshaping trust in science. Frontiers’ digital campaign, Guardians of Science: unveiling the human force behind research integrity, answers the question: who protects the scientific record, and how?
Led by Frontiers Brand team, the campaign received the silver award in the Narrative / Multidisciplinary Digital Projects category. Through an integrated multimedia experience combining video, editorial storytelling, and social-first distribution, the campaign spotlights our Research Integrity team and the advanced technology they use. Their expertise, judgment, and ethical oversight guide every review. A first-of-its-kind podcast-style interview with Frontiers AI Review Assistant, AIRA , makes complex detection technology accessible, human, and engaging. The “Day in the life” interview series brings our Research Integrity and Auditing teams into focus, affirming transparent, expert-led, and responsibly AI-enabled quality control as the bedrock of trust and credibility.
Gilbert De Gregorio , Director of Communications at Frontiers, said:
“The Guardians of Science campaign transformed the abstract concept of research integrity into compelling, human-centered stories. Winning the silver award demonstrates that trust has to be earned in plain sight. Giving a voice to our Research Integrity team – and even to our AI Review Assistant, AIRA – helped reframe conversations about research integrity, quality assurance, and the role of AI in publishing.”
Now in its second year, the EPIC Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in scholarly publishing and have drawn more than 98 entries in 2026. Frontiers' two awards recognize our work on two fronts: setting a roadmap for responsible AI use in research and publishing, and upholding research integrity. Together, they reinforce our commitment to making science open and trusted.