Gastroenterology 2007 in Review

Article Outline

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On behalf of Gastroenterology's associate editors, special section editors, editorial board, and editorial staff, we wish to provide you with a review of the journal's accomplishments over the last year and preview the exciting initiatives of the upcoming year. The journal has witnessed ongoing robust expansion and maintained its top rank among journals dedicated to gastroenterology and hepatology, as well as placing in the top 1% of all biomedical journals. In 2007, Gastroenterology received an increased number of manuscripts, the vast majority of which were categorized as “original,” or those for peer review. We had a healthy mix of submissions from the United States and abroad. The mean time between submission and decision was only 23 days, a remarkable feat for a field as complex as gastroenterology. Articles were published in print about 3 months after final acceptance, which is far better than most other monthly journals. Authors and readers might also have noticed a faster time to electronic publication of articles.

Importantly, Gastroenterology maintained its commitment to publishing a combination of articles in the basic (about 60% of published articles) and clinical (40% of published articles) sciences. Sixty percent of the basic science articles covered topics in the alimentary tract and 40% covered hepatobiliary and pancreatic topics. Readers and authors of Gastroenterology are no doubt aware that we work closely with Editor Dr C. Mel Wilcox and his board of editors at Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology to offer more opportunities for our authors to publish their work and to ensure greater integration between the sister journals of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

Recognizing that the reader can access information through a variety of different vehicles, there have been a number of other enhancements to the AGA Institute journals.

First, we improved the user friendliness of the journal's website by implementing seamless access for members from the AGA's website and by including enhanced navigation through the content by dividing the table of contents by categories, thumbnail images, popular content, and other items. Second, we ensure consistency of style by redrawing all flowcharts, bar graphs, and other line art. Third, the visual appeal of the journal has been enhanced by a professional medical illustrator, who custom develops illustrations and incorporates more color figures. Fourth, we provide convenient access to the top clinical articles by placing them directly on the journal's homepage and providing ≥1 free of charge on the date of publication to AGA members and nonmembers.

Fifth, we have kept AGA members abreast of journal developments via e-mail notices from the AGA Institute and our publisher, Elsevier. Sixth, we added new content to the journal in sections such as “Imaging and Advanced Technology,” edited by Dr Michael Wallace, an authority in endoscopic technology, and “Perspectives,” a section of “minireviews,” which covers a range of important, and timely topics. Seventh, in May 2008 we published a 13th issue of Gastroenterology that was a compilation of the latest developments in the diagnosis and therapy of chronic and end-stage liver diseases. This issue addressed the significant advances in our inpatient and outpatient clinical practices and the important contribution of themes related to hepatology in the journal Gastroenterology. Eighth, we have used the vast array of means of communication available to the AGA Institute to publicize certain high-impact articles via press releases, AGA eDigest, AGA Perspectives, and the AGA Institute newspaper, GI & Hepatology News (in close collaboration with Editor Dr Charles Lightdale).

We strive to maintain the proactive and visionary publications that advance the field in gastroenterology and hepatology. We have engaged 2 new Associate Editors, Dr Raymond T. Chung, Director of Hepatology and Medical Director of Liver Transplantation at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, and Dr Michael Wallace of Mayo Clinic (Jacksonville, FL). Dr Chung's expertise in hepatology adds to what is provided already by Drs Bruce Bacon, Kyong-Mi Chang, Hashem El-Serag, Bishr Omary, and Rebecca Wells. Dr Wallace continues to oversee the journal's “Imaging and Advanced Technology” section and handles the increasing number of endoscopic technology/research articles that are submitted for the peer-review section of Gastroenterology. We perceive this is an important additional dimension for Gastroenterology as the increasing number of endoscopy articles augurs well for the rigorous research being conducted in the field of endoscopy. Finally, Dr Kristine Novak, our new Science Editor, brings much experience and expertise from her previous work at Nature Medicine and Nature Reviews Cancer.

What will you anticipate in the upcoming year? We will continue to emphasize clinical trials in gastroenterology, hepatology, pancreatology, and endoscopy. These results are critical to the translation from discovery to clinical practice. This emphasis is enhanced further by a commitment to decisions of such manuscripts in a time frame of <21 days. Among the Associate Editors, we have acknowledged expertise in clinical trial conduct and appraisal, including Drs Bacon, El-Serag, Lewis, Mayer, Wallace, and Chung. We will maintain also our high standards in publications of basic science articles. Journal podcasts will be introduced in early 2009—we know that this is an effective means of communication and education of the younger generation in our specialties; we are confident that this new feature will help us all to acquire information and balanced commentary as we, as readers, balance our busy work schedules.

Our journal is truly an interactive partnership between the authors, readers, editors, and staff. We assure you that we take seriously the privilege of serving the AGA members and readers of Gastroenterology, now and in the future.