Journal of Molecular Cell Biology Advance Access originally published online on September 6, 2009
Journal of Molecular Cell Biology 2009 1(1):1-2; doi:10.1093/jmcb/mjp018
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JMCB: From China, for the World
Editor-in-chief, Journal of Molecular Cell Biology
* Correspondence to: Dangsheng Li, E-mail: eic{at}sibs.ac.cn
On behalf of our sponsoring institution and our international publisher, I am pleased to announce the launch of JMCB (Journal of Molecular Cell Biology), a new international general interest journal in life sciences. JMCB is sponsored by the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (IBCB), Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and is jointly published with the Oxford University Press (OUP). It aims to be a high-profile venue for publishing outstanding research articles and authoritative reviews in all areas of molecular and cell biology, and provide a first rate forum for scientists worldwide to communicate their exciting findings. JMCB features an outstanding international Editorial Board (http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/jmcb/editorial_board.html), which serves as scientific advisors for the journal and provides strategic guidance for its development.
Few would argue with the fact that scientific research in China is now progressing at an exciting and amazing pace. In contrast with the rapid growth in research investment and productivity, the country severely lacks high-quality scientific journals. The inspiration of founding the new JMCB mainly stems from the simple idea that science in China is in need of and could greatly benefit from having a high-profile journal. Aside from its obvious function as a prominent platform for communicating scientific knowledge and information, it is our belief that having such a journal in China will go a long way in positively influencing the scientific research culture in this country by helping promote high-quality research and fostering the culture of striving for excellence. I am really pleased that both IBCB and OUP share this strategic vision, and the close collaboration between the two sides has been instrumental to the successful launch of the new JMCB.
Why choosing molecular and cell biology as the subject area for the new journal? The thought behind this is perhaps best explained by the cover image we have designed for the inaugural issue. The cover illustrates that in the post-genomics era, the study of molecular and cell biology will remain a fertile research ground in our quest to understand the complexity of life. While a variety of ‘-omics’ approaches are producing data of enormous quantity (exemplified here in the background as a microarray pattern), the more traditional molecular and cell biology approaches will continue to play vital roles in translating the information gathered (symbolized by a magnifying scope) into deeper knowledge of how life functions (illustrated as a model cell depicting various cellular processes).
As our aim is to develop the new JMCB into a high-profile journal, the acceptance standard of the journal will accordingly be high. To be more specific, we will be looking for papers at a level comparable to those in journals such as Molecular Cell, Developmental Cell and Genes & Development. There will be three major categories of regular contents in JMCB: original articles, review articles and research highlights. Original articles report findings of unusual significance and broad interest. Review articles aim to provide accessible, authoritative overviews of a field or topic. Research highlights cover hot papers from the recent literature and provide expert analyses of these exciting findings in a form that is easily accessible to the general readership. Detailed information about how to prepare and submit a manuscript can be found in our Instructions to Authors (http://www.jmcb.oxfordjournals.org).
What will be the unique features of JMCB? First, as a high-profile journal, it will provide a highly visible platform for dissemination of scientific information and will be the first such journal in the Asia area. On the other hand, science is beyond the boundary of geographic territories, and so should be a scientific journal. In this respect, JMCB will aim to provide the best possible service to our authors all over the world. We will strive for a constructive and fair peer-review process and a fast decision once the review is completed. In the case of conflicting recommendations by the referees, we will grant the authors an opportunity to make a tentative response-to-reviews before making an editorial decision. We believe that through this extra editorial effort of bridging the views of referees and authors, we can improve the peer-review process and make it more productive for all parties involved. I hope our authors will find this feature useful.
On a more personal side, I am really grateful to the leadership of IBCB/SIBS/CAS for the opportunity to lead and shape the future of this exciting new journal. It is both a great honor and a tremendous responsibility to serve as the Editor-in-chief, and I will certainly do my best to establish and maintain the scientific quality of JMCB. We are also indebted to our Honorary Editor, Professor Gang Pei, who has been a major driving force behind the founding of the new JMCB. I would also like to thank all Associate Editors and all members of our distinguished Editorial Board for their support of the JMCB initiative. Interactions with these outstanding scientists have been a great source of personal and professional pleasure for me and are certainly something I continue to look forward to in the future.
The online version of JMCB will be freely available before the end of 2010, and an optional free access model will be in place from 2011. We hope that the new JMCB will become an exciting new home for molecular and cell biology-related research to the scientific community, and we would like to extend our warmest welcome to all of you. Please join us, as readers, reviewers and authors!
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