Annual report, January 2008

OVERVIEW

This past year has given opportunity for the publication of stellar original research from around the world. Authors from the USA, Japan, Germany, the UK, France, China, Italy, South Korea, Switzerland, and other nations have provided novel insights into disease pathogenesis. From skin to bone, the alimentary tract and liver, brain, heart, kidney, breast, and other tissues, the diverse spectrum of disease has been examined. This has included investigation of inflammatory disease processes, environmental toxicity such as mechanisms of fibrosis in different tissues, and of course carcinogenesis. This journal's strategy of presenting novel technical advances continues to pay dividends, with reports on tissue imaging of metabolites, whole genome analysis, tissue surrogates for archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples, and quantitative RT-PCR on microdissected tissue samples. All of these papers are in support of the journal mission of advancing knowledge into the pathogenesis of human disease.

A separate feature which has been marvelously successful is the ‘Pathobiology in Focus’ (PIF), launched in September 2006. In calendar year 2007, we have published 8 PIFs, covering methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, wnt signaling, ocular angiogenesis, enteric glial cells, the barrier function of astroglia, cell-surface sialic acid presentation, cancer–stroma interactions, and (to our delight) a commentary on the continued role of the light microscope in pathology research. These PIFs add to the existing ‘Minireviews’ and ‘Editorial Perspectives’ which we publish from time to time. In a December 2007 editorial perspective on ‘The Impact of Review Articles’,¹ we documented that two ‘minireviews from 2005 are two of the three most-cited articles in the pathology literature from 2005 (year-to-date in 2007). We also document that the predominant strength of this and other major pathology journals is the quality of published original research, and to this objective we hold steady.

The published 2007 impact factor for Laboratory Investigation is 4.453, constituting the first impact factor that reflects papers published during this editorship (2004–2008). The 2007 impact factor is a 0.594 jump from the 2006 value of 3.859, and is a return of this journal to the mid-4's range, last attained in 1999. It is our definite hope that this journal will continue to track upward in its reputation and value both to authors and the readership. From an operational standpoint, we strive to maintain the highest performance standards. These include an average days-to-first decision of 16 days; and an average days-to-final-decision of 21 days (representing total journal review time to final disposition—acceptance or rejection). For manuscripts undergoing full external scientific review, we are most thankful to our external reviewers for keeping review time consistently under 20 days. The names of reviewers for issue 87, calendar year 2007, are given at the close of this editorial.

Lastly, the journal presentation and format was modified with the February 2007 issue, so as to enhance the graphic presentation of published material. This included full integration of cover images with the cover graphics, more visually appealing front pages, and most importantly, enhanced graphic presentation of published articles. The PIF articles, in particular, provide professional-caliber graphic artwork, which is available free-of-charge for web download. It is our hope that the visual style of the journal will further distinguish the high-quality work that we are privileged to publish.

There is value in reflecting upon articles drawing the greatest attention from the reading public. Table 1 gives the top 10 articles accessed from the web in the form of HTML or PDF downloads, over the period January 1, 2007 to September 30, 2007. Four of the top 10 were PIFs, 4 were Minireviews, and 2 were original research articles. The 8 PIFs and Minireviews are drawn from a total of 13 PIFs and 13 Minireviews published in 2005–2007. This is a high return, in keeping with our intent to publish critical reviews which truly add value to the literature. Importantly, original research articles remain the mainstay of the journal, starting with the marvelous articles by de Kok et al on ‘Normalization of gene expression measurements in tumor tissues’ and Li et al on ‘Fetal alcohol exposure impairs hedgehog cholesterol modification and signaling’. As in our published review of reviews,¹ the predominant impact of this journal is through its original published research. This is further demonstrated in Table 2, which reports the top 10 cited Lab Invest papers of 2006. Five of the top 10 cited papers are original research articles.

Table 1 Top 10 articles downloaded as HTML or PDF files, January 1, 2007–September 30, 2007

Table 2 Top 10 cited articles published in 2006, through October 15, 2007

As always, the quality of this journal will depend upon the excellence of submitted articles. We seek ‘the best’ in original research devoted to understanding the mechanisms of disease. This includes work in human tissues and with experimental models, both in vivo and in vitro. We consider original reports of new experimental models for disease, and of major technical advances of broad impact to research into disease pathogenesis. We welcome suggestions for critical reviews or novel PIF reports. We are also willing to entertain suggestions for thoughtful Editorial Perspectives. Most importantly, we thank you for the opportunity to serve you, and look forward to the coming year.

James M Crawford, MD, PhDEditor-in-Chief

List of Reviewers for 2007

(^*Denotes members of the Editorial Board)

^*Abraham, ClaraAgre, PeterAkin, CemAlbanese, Chris^*Alpini, GianfrancoAltiok, SonerAlverdy, JohnAnastasi, John^*Anders, RobertArafat, Hwyda AAster, JonBadizadegan, KamranBalabaud, CharlesBaron, ThierryBattles, GusBedossa, PierreBerne, GabrielleBissonnette, MarcBosch, Franz^*Brat, DanielBrown, Kevin DBucala, RichardBuret, AndreByrne, CarolynCalifano, Joseph^*Campbell-Thompson, MarthaCantorna, MargheritaCardelli, JamesCarroll, StevenChan, WingChang, Yu-SunChen, JinCheng, JasonChung, Doo HyunClapp, CarmenCockwell, Paul^*Cohen, Michael B^*Coleman, WilliamComoglio, PaoloCooper, MarkCosgrove, DominicCowin, AllisonCraig, AndrewCripe, TimothyCrockett, DavidCrouser, Elliott D^*Damjanov, IvanDe Strooper, BartDevlin, GlynDiehl, Anna MaeDooley, Steven^*Dwinell, MichaelEberhart, CharlesElenitoba-Johnson, KojoFasano, AlessioFeldstein, ArielForge, AndrewFranklin, RichFrossard, Nelly^*Gabbiani, GiulioGaffney, PatrickGaskins, RexGasque, PhilippeGazit, EhudGeller, David AGerhardt, HolgerGerschenson, MarianaGetz, Godfrey^*Gewirtz, AndrewGiles, Rachel HGiuliani, NicolaGobe, GlendaGodfrey, TonyGodley, LucyGoldenring, Jim^*Gorham, JamesGorin, Yves^*Gotlieb, AvrumGowen, BrianGraham, W VallenGreene, CatherineGressner, AxelGroner, BerndGurbuxani, SandeepHao, Chuan-MingHarris, DavidHayward, Diane^*He, Tong-ChuanHegi, MonikaHeim, MarkusHermann, MartinHerrera, GuillermoHerrmann, MarkHerzog, RolandHewitt, StephenHigh, KatherineHilgers, KarlHinek, AleksanderHirota, SeiichiHolliday, RobinHorz, Hans-PeterHughes, JeremyHui, AlexHuisamen, BarbaraHuntington, James AIlan, YaronInce, TanIshikawa, YuichiIsola, JormaIto, TakahitoIvanov, Andrei^*Jennette, J CharlesJhala, NiragJoplin, RuthKallis, Yiannis^*Kanwar, YashpalKarumanchi, S AnanthKaunitz, JonathanKawanishi, ShosukeKay, Mark AKeely, Stephen JKelchtermans, HildeKelly, DarrenKisaalita, WilliamKitakaze, MasafumiKomekado, HideyukiKondo, ToshikazuKonig, RolfKovbasnjuk, OlgaKucharzik, TorstenKurihara, HidetakeKwong, Yok-LamLadanyi, MarcLammert, FrankLaRusso, NicholasLasota, JerzyLaude, HubertLechner, AndreasLeclercq, IsabelleLee, AmyLeeuwenburgh, ChristiaanLevenson, Richard^*Lewis, WilliamLi, ChengLiao, JamesLiaudet-Coopman, ELichter, Peter^*Lim, Megan^*Lingen, Mark^*Lisanti, Michael^*Liu, ChenLos, MarekLukashevich, ILukic, MiodragMacAulay, Calum^*Maitra, AnirbanMajumdar, AdhipMandell, JamesMannelli, MassimoMao, XinMarchuk, DouglasMarzec, MichalMathews, Clayton^*McCole, DeclanMcCormick, BethMcCubrey, JamesMcDonals, Vince^*McManus, BruceMerchant, Juanita^*Merlin, Didier^*Michalopoulos, GeorgeMills, JasonMin, Wei-Ping^*Mischel, Paul^*Miyazono, KoheiMoldawer, LyleMoskaluk, ChristopherMota, MariaMotegi, KatsumiMurphy-Ullrich, Joanne EMurry, ChuckMyers, JefferyNagy, LauraNakaigawa, Noboru^*Nakano, ToruNakanuma, YasuniNangaku, MasaomiNarula, Jagat^*Natkunam, YasodhaNatori, YasuhiroNavarro, Juan FNelson, PeterNicosia, SantoNoble, NancyNoffsinger, AmyNuovo, GerardO'Brien, MichaelOh, S PaulOhnishi, HirohideO'Leary, TimothyOleszak, EmiliaOsada, HirotakaOstendorf, TammoPai, RishParadis, ValerieParks, William CParrish, AllanPeavy, GeorgePeck, AmmonPellegata, NataliaPenland, ShannonPetersen, BryonPetrof, ElainePfeifer, GerdPizzo, SalvatorePoirier, Miriam^*Polverini, PeterPozzi, AmbraPrabhu, RameshPytel, PeterQualman, StephenRahimi, Farid^*Ramadori, GiulianoRastaldi, MariaReddy, JanardanRedline, Raymond WRees, Andy JReilly, KarlyneReinach, Peter SReinhard, MaryReis-Filho, JorgeRenia, LaurentReynolds, Susan^*Rimm, DavidRippe, RichardRobertson, Keith^*Roskams, TaniaRoussel, Martine^*Rubin, Brian PRubin, Joshua BRyan, JohnSabo, Edmond^*Saika, ShizuyaSalant, DavidSalem, AliasgerSalvato, MariaSamson, Willis KSarras, MichaelSaubermann, LawrenceSavidge, TorSchermuly, RalphSchmeck, BerndSchuppan, DetlefScnackenberg, LauraScott, EdwardSears, CynthiaSehgal, PravinShah, PredimanSharpless, Norman^*Shen, LeShi, Shan-RongSidransky, David^*Siegal, GeneSingh, NeenaSingh, UgraSlayton, WilliamSokol, RonaldSontheimer, Harald^*Sporn, MichaelStassen, MichaelSteendijk, PaulStewart, DuncanStillman, IsaacStrayer, DavidStricker, TomStrieter, RobertSu, LipingSuhr, OleSun, JunSzabo, EvaTanaka, Kazuhiro^*Taylor, Clive^*Teitell, MichaelTensen, CorneliusTheise, NeilTornillo, LuigiTournier, Jean-NicolasTrue, HeatherTrue, LawrenceTsao, MingTulchinsky, EugeneTycko, BenjaminUrban, ZsoltUshijima, ToshikazuVan der Kooi, AnnekeVaux, DavidVilella, ElizabethViswanathan, VKVivian, JayVon Deimling, AndreasWang, HanlinWang, JingWang, TimothyWatson, AlastairWeber, ChristopherWeiskirchen, RalfWeitzmann, M NealeWells, RebeccaWislson, BrianWong, MelissaYamamoto, HiroshiYang, LijunYang, ZequanYi, SoojinYoon, Han-SeungYu, Jau-SongZamudio, StacyZassenhaus, Hans PeterZavros, YanaZern, Mark^*Zhou, XJ JosoephZhu, Jie