Clinical Biochemistry 45 (2012) 1–2
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Clinical Biochemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/clinbiochem
Editorial
The ABCs of clinical biochemistry Keywords: Clinical biochemistry and clinical chemistry Molecular biology and genetics Therapeutic drug monitoring and toxicology Laboratory immunology and laboratory medicine Translational and interdisciplinary research
For this first issue in 2012, the Associate Editors and new Editorin-Chief wish to acknowledge Dr. Delvin for his contributions and leadership over the past 6 years as Editor-in-Chief for the Journal. During this time, Clinical Biochemistry has continued to have a large international focus with special issues and articles that have had major impacts in laboratory medicine — a great accomplishment under Dr. Delvin's stewardship. This is, however, not a farewell, as Dr. Delvin has agreed to stay on board as the Reviews Editor — a position that will further promote our Journal. So what does the future hold for Clinical Biochemistry? An analogy may well be akin to predicting a laboratory assay's performance: a review of the past, with incorporation of present knowledge and applying strong scientific principals is the best path forward. Even with this due diligence, there is no assurance, that the assay will maintain its performance. However, one could hardly fault this comprehensive approach, and with constant monitoring, this path may in fact represent the optimal approach for continual improvement and success. With this in mind, let's assess Clinical Biochemistry as the proverbial assay in this situation. Clinical Biochemistry is an international journal with a significant impact to the field, with nearly 5000 citations and more than 400,000 articles downloaded in 2010 alone. This is indeed impressive, and indicates that our audience is much broader than what is detailed in the author information pack (i.e., chemists, biochemists, immunologists, biologists). To that end, what changes are needed to embrace, engage and enhance our readership and the content within Clinical Biochemistry? Firstly, the audience for Clinical Biochemistry must be expanded to reflect both the readers and authors who publish in this Journal. The targeted audience should be clinical chemists, laboratory directors, physicians, as well as other laboratory professionals including, hematologists, geneticists, microbiologists, pathologists, biochemists, toxicologists, immunologists, analytical chemists, and molecular biologists. Secondly, to accommodate this expanded audience, a change in the aims and scopes of the Journal is necessary. Previously, the aims and scopes of Clinical Biochemistry was that it published articles relating to the applications of molecular biology, biochemistry, chemistry and immunology to clinical investigation and to the diagnosis, therapy,
and monitoring of human disease. The new aims and scopes focus on the laboratory aspects that have made Clinical Biochemistry a success: Clinical Biochemistry publishes articles relating to clinical chemistry, molecular biology and genetics, therapeutic drug monitoring and toxicology, laboratory immunology and laboratory medicine in general, with the focus on analytical and clinical investigation of laboratory tests in humans used for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and therapy, and monitoring of disease. Thirdly, the variety of articles and submissions will need to be changed to engage this broader community and allow more translational and interdisciplinary research articles. For example, manuscripts were previously categorized as Analytical or Clinical Investigations and were offered as Full Papers or as Capsules. Critical Reviews were welcomed, but contributors were encouraged to contact the Editor-in-Chief to avoid conflict with other forthcoming Reviews. These categories have been further refined to again capture and expand on the current strengths of Clinical Biochemistry: Manuscripts are categorized as Analytical or Clinical Investigations and may be offered as Full Papers, Short Communications, or Letters. Reviews, Editorials, Opinion pieces and Special Reports are welcome, but contributors are encouraged to contact the Editor-in-Chief to avoid conflict with other forthcoming publications. The increase number and diversity of articles for Clinical Biochemistry is where this editorial board wishes to be proactive, by exploring different options to enhance current content. To this end, there will be changes to the accompanying front cover and article layout (some of which have already occurred). Specifically, full length articles as well as short communications will now contain a structured abstract limited to 250 words and formatted to include separate headings of: Objectives, Design and Methods, Results, and Conclusions. Full length articles should not exceed 4000 words (maximum 40 references), and up to 6 tables and/or figures with short communications comprising up to 1500 words of text, maximum 15 references, and two illustrative items (Tables and/or Figures). Letters will be classified as Case Reports (provide novel insight into disease mechanisms or diagnostic applications), Laboratory Notes (technical evaluation or important insight into analytical methodology), or Letters to the Editor (focused on a specific article that has appeared in Clinical Biochemistry within 4 weeks of print issue date of article). For all 3 types of letters listed above, the text should not exceed 500 words, with no abstract, a maximum of 1 table or figure and up to 5 references. Review Articles and Special Reports may exceed the word and reference limit for Full length articles as per the comprehensive nature of these articles. However, both of these articles (Reviews and Special Reports) will still require an abstract (unstructured, 250 word maximum). Editorials and Opinion pieces will not require an abstract and will be limited to 2000 words and up to 20 references.
0009-9120/$ – see front matter © 2011 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2011.11.003
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Editorial
Readers of the journal will need to be engaged and see additional value in Clinical Biochemistry beyond the scientific articles. For instance, new content under the Opinion pieces could include professional content material related to Clinical Chemistry (i.e., Chemist's Corner) or to other disciplines (i.e., Beyond Biochemistry). The international aspect would be further highlighted by Opinion pieces on relevant topics from leaders throughout the world (i.e., PanLab). These represent a sampling of different options, which are required to complement the clinical and analytical articles. Scientific articles will remain as the backbone; however, other additional material will be necessary to maintain and attract both readers and authors. In conclusion, the ABCs of Clinical Biochemistry are straightforward with the emphasis on papers addressing the Analytical, Biochemical, and Clinical issues involving laboratory medicine in human disease and health. The call for additional types of papers, in fact is traceable to the Editorial by Dr. Campbell in the first volume of Clinical Biochemistry in 1967: “Although Clinical Biochemistry is first and foremost an international scientific journal, it is hoped from time to time to publish points of opinion, views etc., regarding practice, performance and education in clinical biochemistry.” [1]. In the ever changing and competitive publishing medium for laboratory medicine, our hope is that with excellent, scientifically sound and important publications, our journal, Clinical Biochemistry,
will be a leader in this forum, with a vision for Clinical Biochemistry being the eminent journal for laboratory testing for clinical care. References [1] Campbell DJ. Editorial note. Clin Biochem 1967;1:177.
Peter A. Kavsak McMaster University, Canada Corresponding author at: Editor-in-Chief, Clinical Biochemistry. Fax: +1 905 575 2581. E-mail address:
[email protected]. Catherine Hammett-Stabler University of North Carolina, United States Leslie Lai Gleneagles Medical Centre, Malaysia Pierre Wallemacq Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium Robert H. Christenson University of Maryland, United States