CJASN (2010)

The Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN) was the brainchild of Robert G. Narins, MD, Director of Postgraduate Medical Education for the American Society of Nephrology (ASN). The reasons for the ASN to start another journal despite the high quality of the existing publication, the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), were twofold. First and foremost, most of the members of the ASN were clinicians who dealt with patients and who were interested in practical, up-to-date information. Second, despite that clinical articles were published in JASN, it was evident that only a small proportion of good-quality clinical submissions were being published in the pages of JASN. Furthermore, Dr. Narins was convinced that the latest in clinical research should be expeditiously added to the postgraduate education menu to compliment ASN Renal Week and the Board Review Certification and Update offerings. The journal would have an educational component integrated with its main thrust to publish the latest and best clinical research. The idea for an ASN clinical journal germinated in 2004, and, after many discussions, the ASN leadership decided to launch the new venture. CJASN came into being in 2005 with the appointment of Dr. William M. Bennett as editor-in-chief. Dr. Bennett quickly assembled an outstanding group of deputy editors and associate editors, who helped to formulate journal policy and to begin to receive manuscripts. Because the membership of the ASN is diverse and international, an attempt was made to represent all of the ASN′s constituencies in CJASN's leadership. A deliberate effort was made to incorporate leading nephrologists from throughout the world in the CJASN editorial team. It was believed that this broad international representation would enable the journal to solicit from around the world diverse articles that were relevant to the ASN′s global membership. Furthermore, there was a deliberate effort to incorporate pediatric nephrology, renal pathology, and renal pharmacology into the content of CJASN. Dr. Bennett was appointed on February 1, 2005, and the journal began receiving manuscripts in May 2005. The first issue of CJASN was published in January 2006. Beginning in 2006 and through 2008, six issues were published each year. Because of the increasing demand and increased submissions, the journal went to monthly publication in January 2009. CJASN first was indexed in PubMed in August 2007. Figure 1 shows the increased number of submissions and the acceptance rate through the first 9 months of 2010.Figure 1: Total submissions by year. Original submissions for 2010 through September 30, 2010. Projected through end of 2010.There are various metrics by which a journal's success is measured. The most respected is the impact factor, which is a ratio of the number of citations per article published. As can be seen in Figure 2, the first impact factor was awarded in 2008 before full PubMed approval. The impact factor has gradually increased such that CJASN is now comparable or better than the other major journals in nephrology. There is a trend for the number to improve annually.Figure 2: Impact factor.Popular features of CJASN have been the Moving Points series, in which a topic is covered with three to four solicited articles; the Pro/Con Debates, including those about erythropoietin and other health care policy issues; the In-Depth and Mini-Reviews, which serve the educational needs of the membership; and most recently the ASN Podcasts on topical issues in nephrology that are in the pages of CJASN. Links from CJASN are available to popular programs in UpToDate and HDCN to expand the reader's experience. The journal also has succeeded in reaching an international audience as indicated by the submissions, which are evenly divided between those from the United States and those from abroad. These data are shown in Table 1.Table 1: US versus non-US original submissions by yearThus, it is with a feeling of pride that CJASN is turned over to the next generation of editors. We are thrilled with the choice of the new editor in chief, Gary C. Curhan, MD, of Boston. Gary has been an invaluable associate editor and brings his international reputation for excellence in epidemiology and clinical research to his new position. Gary has been instrumental in shaping the current policies and directions of CJASN, and we are confident that he will continue this in the future and take the journal to the proverbial next level. In thinking of the past 6 years, which have gone by so quickly, we would be remiss if we did not recognize the contribution of the outstanding associate editors, liaison editors, and international editors. They are listed in Table 2. Without their hard work and commitment, the success of CJASN simply would not have occurred.Table 2: CJASN editorsAs the senior editors of CJASN, we also recognize the contributions of Bonnie O'Brien, who, as everyone knows, is the glue that holds the CJASN and JASN publications together. Bonnie works apparently without any sleep because there is no time during a 24-hour period when a new submission or recommendation by an editor does not appear from her computer. Her commitment to excellence is outstanding, and most of us think she probably could edit the journal by herself. We also recognize the work of the editorial assistant in Portland, Margie Marksthaler. Margie has the unenviable task of keeping track of the editor-in-chief, which is oftentimes a full-time job. She runs the editorial office in Portland with quiet and efficient excellence, and all of the journal editors are indebted to her. Finally, we thank the ASN leadership for recognizing and implementing this new journal especially for clinicians and those interested in the care of patients. There is no doubt that CJASN is emerging as the premier clinical nephrology journal in the world. Disclosures None.