About Journal of Translational Medicine

What is Journal of Translational Medicine?

Journal of Translational Medicine is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal focussing on information derived from human experimentation so as to optimise the communication between basic and clinical science.

Translation research goes from bench to bedside and from bedside to bench; as such the journal aims to facilitate the dissemination of this research so that more therapeutic insights may be derived from new scientific ideas - and vice versa. In the bench to bedside approach theories emerging from preclinical experimentation are tested on disease-affected human subjects, often in ‘phase 1’ trials. With the bedside to bench approach information obtained from preliminary human experimentation can be used to refine our understanding of the biological principles underpinning the heterogeneity of human disease and polymorphism(s).

The journal welcomes submissions on all aspects of translational medicine research including negative studies. The Editors believe results of a clinical study originating from a sound scientific rationale should be considered equally important for publication, whether negative or positive, as even negative data can offer important biological insights.

Journal of Translational Medicine covers all areas of translational medicine, but also has several dedicated sections that operate within the overall aims of the journal:

• Cancer Microenvironment - Edited by Fernando Vidal-Vanaclocha
  The Cancer Microenvironment section publishes research on the cellular and molecular components of the cancer microenvironment, with a particular focus on translational research that has important implications for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human neoplasms.

  Submissions that relate to the characterisation of the molecular profile and regulation of cancers at different tumour stages are especially welcome, as are those which identify specific cancer microenvironments that predict tumour incidence, response to therapy and outcome. Laboratory studies of new drugs and biological agents that target cancer microenvironments will also be considered.

• Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapy - Edited by David Stroncek
  This section aims to improve communication between basic and clinical research related to cell, tissue and gene therapies. Effective clinical therapies require efficient translation of research between the bench and bedside to allow the discovery, development, scale up, production and administration of cells, tissues and vectors. These therapies are being used to treat patients with a range of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune disorders.

  Studies considered for publication include those regarding the nature of cells, tissues and vectors used in clinical therapies; methods to collect, isolate and modify cells; and novel reagents, equipment, and instruments used in production. The section also welcomes research into the application of clinical therapies; factors that effect the safety and efficacy; in particular the potency, stability and purity of cells or tissue; and issues related to the safety of cell and tissue donors.

• Immunovirology – Edited by Luigi Buonaguro
  The Immunovirology section focuses on translational research related to virology and immunity to virus-based diseases, with a particular interest in human oncogenic viruses.

  Studies focused on the role of innate, as well as adaptive, immunity in the establishment, containment and/or progression of viral infections up to cancer, including vaccine and adjuvanting strategies, will be considered for publication.

Classic immunology as well as more recent, less established “omics” approaches (genomics, proteomics, immunogenomics, pharmacogenomics) will also be considered.
• Tumor Immunology and Biological Cancer Therapy - Edited by iSBTc
  The Tumor Immunology and Biological Cancer Therapy section aims to enrich the communication between basic biological and immunological sciences and the clinical investigation arena. The section is edited by a dedicated Editorial Board from the International Society for the Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc) led by Section Editor Pedro Romero.

  A constant flow of discoveries in immunology have been expanding the contours of our understanding of immunity at an ever increasing pace. In parallel, their translation to the clinics has also picked up momentum. A very large number of novel therapies based on the immunobiology of tumors have been or are currently being tested in the clinics. As well, sophisticated preclinical models of major tumor types are generated at an astonishing speed to address major questions of basic and applied cancer research. The community as a whole is now oriented toward the prospect of identifying combination anti-cancer therapies that may reach unmatched clinical efficacy. Such levels of activity require appropriate means to share new knowledge and to catalyze the development of the field. This section aims to provide such a platform and welcomes submissions in the areas described.

Authors wishing to submit to one of the journal sections should select the appropriate option in the 'Manuscript details' section of the online submission system.

Content overview

Journal of Translational Medicine considers the following types of articles:

• Research - should exemplify the conduct of outstanding clinical research by including the collection of samples and analysis tools aimed at understanding the biology of the disease and its treatment.
• Study protocols - should describe proposed or ongoing research, with a detailed account of the hypothesis, rationale and methodology of the study. The study design must be adequate to answer the clinical question.
• Methodology - should present a new experimental method, test or procedure. The method may either be completely new or a better version of an existing method.
• Reviews - comprehensive, authoritative, descriptions of any subject within the journal's scope; these articles are usually written by opinion leaders that have been invited by the Editorial Board.
• Commentaries - short, focused and opinionated articles on any subject within the journal's scope. These articles are usually related to a contemporary issue, such as recent research findings, and are often written by opinion leaders invited by the Editorial Board.

Journal of Translational Medicine encourages authors to prepare video-articles with Journal of Visualised Experiments (JoVE) as an adjunct to their publication, to allow visualisation of the techniques under-pinning the published research. JoVE arranges for experiments to be filmed by JoVE video-professionals, edited and once approved by you published as a video article in JoVE. The service is available for a production fee of US $1000 per video. Video-articles prepared ahead of submission to Journal of Translational Medicine can be incorporated into the article as an additional file, and we believe can enhance the final publication.

Peer review policies

Manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Translational Medicine are assigned to a Monitoring Editor, who appoints two reviewers who maybe basic or clinical scientists. In deciding whether to recommend the article to be accepted or rejected, the reviewer asks whether the scientific community is better served by publication of the article. Peer-reviewers are also asked to say whether or not the quality is sufficiently clearly written for publication. The Monitoring Editor makes the final recommendation on receipt of two reports. Articles are selected on the basis of the rationale of the study design and quality of the research rather than their clinical outcome.

Edited by Francesco Marincola, Journal of Translational Medicine is supported by an expert Editorial Board.

Publishing in Journal of Translational Medicine

All articles are listed in PubMed immediately upon acceptance (after peer review), and are covered by PubMed Central, MEDLINE, Thomson Reuters (ISI), CAS, Embase and Current Contents.

Articles in Journal of Translational Medicine should be cited in the same way as articles in a traditional journal. However, because articles in this journal are not printed, they do not have page numbers. Instead, they have a unique article number.

The following citation:

J Transl Med 2004, 2:1

refers to article 1 from volume 2 of the journal.

As an online journal, Journal of Translational Medicine does not have issue numbers. Each volume corresponds to a calendar year.

To keep up to date with the latest articles from Journal of Translational Medicine, why not register to receive alerts? Registration also enables you to customise your subject areas of interest, store your searches, and submit your manuscripts.

Submission of manuscripts

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically to Journal of Translational Medicine using the online submission system. Full details of how to submit a manuscript are given in the instructions for authors.

General journal policies

Journal of Translational Medicine is published by BioMed Central, an independent publisher committed to ensuring peer-reviewed biomedical research is open access. That means it is freely and universally accessible online, it is archived in at least one internationally recognised free access repository, and its authors retain copyright, allowing anyone to reproduce or disseminate articles, according to the BioMed Central copyright and licence agreement. Journal of Translational Medicine however, has taken this further by making all its content open access.

Journal of Translational Medicine's articles are archived in PubMed Central, the US National Library of Medicine's full-text repository of life science literature, and also at INIST in France and in e-Depot, the National Library of the Netherlands' digital archive of all electronic publications. The journal is also participating in the British Library's e-journals pilot project, and plans to deposit copies of all articles with the British Library.

Journal of Translational Medicine is able to deliver summaries of frequently updated content via Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds. These are accessible via the orange "XML" button at the top of the list of recent articles or the list of most accessed articles. For more information about RSS feeds see our publisher's website.

For further information about general policies please see the instructions for authors.