Opportunities for collaboration between the

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

and

Elsevier

January 2011

Simone Groothuis – Publisher

Bart Wacek – Executive Publisher

Carl Schwarz – Publishing Director

Contents

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3
2. Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 3
3. About Elsevier ................................................................................................................................. 4
4. Why we are the perfect partner: Elsevier’s position in stem cell science ...................................... 5
5. A dedicated Elsevier team to support this collaboration ............................................................... 6
6. Proposal for collaboration .............................................................................................................. 7
6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7
6.2 The launch of a new journal - ‘Translational Stem Cell Research’ .............................................. 8
6.2.1 The launch in steps ................................................................................................................. 8
6.2.2 Expected development ........................................................................................................... 9
6.2.3 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 12
6.3 Affiliation with an existing journal ............................................................................................ 13
6.3.1 Current scope ........................................................................................................................ 13
6.3.2 Current editorial team .......................................................................................................... 13
6.3.3 Journal strengths................................................................................................................... 14
6.3.4 The launch in steps ............................................................................................................... 14
6.3.5 Expected development ......................................................................................................... 15
6.3.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 16

Page 2
1. Introduction

Elsevier would be delighted to work with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) in
a publishing venture that is mutually beneficial. This proposal encompasses a number of initiatives
aimed at supporting CIRM in achieving its underlying goals of:

Raising the priority and awareness of translational stem cell research

Fostering collaborations between stem cell biologists, clinicians and engineers
Acceleration of the field of translational stem cell research

In addition, Elsevier understands from discussions with Dr. D. Gibbons that CIRM would like to see a
very rapid implementation and that there should be ample space to publish ‘negative results’.

The Elsevier proposal offers the following options:

a) The launch of a new journal, with both an online and a print component.
b) An immediate collaboration/affiliation between CIRM and Elsevier’s journal Stem Cell
Research

2. Executive Summary

Elsevier is a publishing company with a wealth of experience and a bounty of resources. It is CIRM’s
ideal partner in achieving its publishing goals. This proposal gives extensive details on two publishing
options. The first is directly aligned with the RFP and provides a path to a new journal launch. The
second, based on the proposal writers’ 40+ years of experience, offers a quicker, more efficient, and
more comprehensive alternative to achieving the same goals. Elsevier is uniquely position to make
either of these options a reality. And further, Elsevier, based on its storied history of success, is the
perfect long-term partner to carry out and adapt goals for the decades to come.

Page 3
3. About Elsevier

As the world’s leading publisher of science and health information, Elsevier serves more than 30
million scientists, students and health and information professionals worldwide. We help customers
advance science and health by providing world-class information and innovative tools that help
them make critical decisions, enhance productivity and improve outcomes. We produce 2,000
journals and 19,000 books. Every year we produce greater than 250,000 new articles and launch
approximately 20 new journals.

Elsevier works with 7,000 editors, 70,000 editorial board members and 600,000 authors. We appoint
more than 1,000 new editors per year. We publish the works of 12 million researchers working at
4,500+ institutions.

We provide our journals with Elsevier Editorial Services (EES), which is an online solution supporting
journal author submission, editorial management, and peer review. It brings us closer to our
customers by allowing us to receive and act upon feedback quickly, fuelling continual improvement
of our journal services. As a result we work with 300,000 reviewers who produce 1 million review
reports per year.

Elsevier is a pioneer in the development of electronic tools that demonstrably improve the
productivity and decision-making of our science and healthcare customers – we are dedicated to
helping them make a difference.

In 1997, we introduced the first large-scale electronic platform to the STM communities –
ScienceDirect. Its success is shown by 11 million users worldwide who generate 250 million+
downloads per year. Today we offer more than 9 million articles now available on ScienceDirect. In
2001, we launched our search engine dedicated to science, Scirus. In 2004, Scopus was launched,
the largest abstract and citation database of research literature and quality web sources. In 2010 we
saw the integration of these tools into SciVerse. One of its key elements is SciVerse Applications.
SciVerse Applications is a marketplace and developer network that allows the scientific community
to build, find and use applications that enhance the research experience. Through SciVerse
Applications, researchers and librarians can customize their SciVerse search and discovery processes
and collaborate with developers to create an ever-expanding universe of new applications.

Page 4
4. Why we are the perfect partner: Elsevier’s position in stem cell
science

Stem cell science is a rapidly growing field with the number of publications in 2010 roughly at 20,000
papers.

Papers in Stem Cells Elsevier papers in Stem Cells

25,000 4000
3500
20,000

Number of publications
Number of publications

3000

15,000 2500
2000
10,000 1500
1000
5,000
500
0 0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Figure 1 Articles in Stem Cell Research (2000-2009), based on SCOPUS search for the phrase “stem cell*”

Elsevier publishes roughly 20% of all science in this area, notably in journals like

Cell
Cell Stem Cell
Developmental Biology
Stem Cell Research
Current Biology
The Lancet
Cancer Letters
Experimental Hematology
Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation

The journals cover areas from very fundamental science to the more applied areas.

Elsevier’s best cited article in 2009 in this field was: “Generation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Using Recombinant Proteins” by Hongyan Zhou et al. (Cell Stem Cell, Volume 4, Issue 5, 8 May 2009,
Pages 381-384). By January 3, 2010, the article has already attracted 234 citations.

Elsevier has been very successful in leveraging its breadth in coverage in the field to successfully
launch two new titles specifically aimed at stem cell science: Stem Cell Research and Cell Stem Cell.
Any collaboration between CIRM and Elsevier would benefit from Elsevier’s vast network in the
scientific community.

Page 5
5. A dedicated Elsevier team to support this collaboration

Elsevier employs 7,000 people in more than 24 countries. Any journal will have a large number of
people assigned to it. There will be multiple staff members in marketing, sales, advertisement,
production, and publishing.

The Publisher will be your first point of contact and your partner in the establishment,
development and promotion of the new journal.

The Journal Manager, based in our office in San Diego, will be the day-to-day contact for the
journal editor when it comes to the review process, individual journal articles and the
editorial system.

The Publishing Content Coordinator, based in our office in Beijing, will coordinate the
compilation of any special issues or series of review articles.

A marketing manager will put together campaigns to promote the journal via targeted e-
mails, direct mail, and scientific conferences.

Administrative staff will handle the maintenance of the Web site, process editorial fees, and
can make necessary travel arrangements and other duties associated with editorial board
meetings.

A commercial sales representative will sell advertising and work with industry, where
applicable webinars, supplements, etc, might be appropriate.

Finally, a bevy of professionals in information technology (IT), product development, strategy, sales,
etc, are always at the ready for any issue that might arise with this partnership.

Page 6
6. Proposal for collaboration

6.1 Introduction

Elsevier is well position to provide a flagship journal for CIRM, which provides not only a vehicle for
publication, but also gives more credibility to the already strong CIRM brand. A well-respected
journal is the cornerstone for any scientific profession. It also serves as a stepping stone to other
platforms of scholarly communication channels such as live events, assessment and education.

Elsevier is delighted to offer CIRM two options for collaboration:

a) The launch of a new journal, with both an on-line and a print component.
b) An immediate collaboration/affiliation between CIRM and Elsevier’s journal Stem Cell
Research

Depending on need, Elsevier could also jointly develop both options. Each option has its advantages
and some drawbacks.

Page 7
6.2 The launch of a new journal - ‘Translational Stem Cell Research’
Elsevier offers the launch of a new journal with the working title “Translational Stem Cell Research”.

The scope of the journal would be directly aligned with the CIRM RFP. The journal will focus on
translational aspects of stem cell science, stem cell-based regenerative medicine and tissue
engineering, stem cell-based predictive toxicology, and cancer stem cell investigation, and would
provide ample space for also publishing ‘negative results.’

A new journal in stem cell research will enter into a very competitive market. We would like to point
towards an article which appeared in a Springer journal: Stem Cell Reviews and Reports, Volume 6,
Number 4, 497-499, “The Proliferation and Differentiation of Stem Cell Journals” by Paul R. Sanberg
and Cesar V. Borlongan. This article shows the growth of the science as well as the number of
publications in the field. (see Appendix 1)

If CIRM decides that it wants to enter this competitive market, Elsevier and CIRM will typically take
the following steps.

6.2.1 The launch in steps

A new journal will only be successful when it is accepted and supported by the scientific community.
Elsevier will work with CIRM to take several crucial steps in achieving this. The below schedule
indicates how a new journal could publish its first issue on January 1st, 2012. We stress that this
schedule is extremely tight, and that small delays early in the process can very easily lead to larger
delays later, even up to postponing the entire launch by one year.

February 1st, 2011: Signing the agreement with the CIRM

For the journal to officially launch on January 1st, 2012, the agreement will have to be signed no later
than April 1st, 2011. Elsevier reserves the right to make modifications (including eliminating options
based on competitive analysis) to the proposal and budget during any interim leading to this signing.

June 1st,, 2011: Appointing the right chief editor and editorial board

The appointment of the right chief editor and editorial board are crucial to any new journal’s
success. Obviously they must be familiar with translational science, stem cells, stem cell-based
regenerative medicine and tissue engineering and/or cancer stem cells. In addition, they must have
an appeal in the community and be willing and able to proactively solicit particularly the first
submissions, scrutinizing them to ensure high quality.

With its extensive network in stem cell research, Elsevier is highly equipped for this task. Elsevier’s
network would be cross-checked in cooperation with CIRM and its close relationships with
thousands of researchers in the field.

To stress the relationship between Elsevier and the CIRM, we would look for a chief editor based in
California.

Appointing a chief editor within this time frame will likely be challenging. Given the number of
competing journals in the field, many candidates will already be affiliated with existing journals.

Page 8
June 1st, 2011: Launching the marketing campaign

Our marketing department is highly experienced with launching new journals, and the marketing
campaign can be launched immediately after the appointment of the chief editor and editorial
board. Campaigns will make use of our large databases of journal contacts, communicating via
channels ranging from traditional print to modern social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

We would ideally want to launch the marketing campaign at the 2011 ISSCR Annual Meeting in
Toronto (June 15-18). This implies that the editorial team should be in place by then.

As the journal will be competing with a large number of established journals that are already in
PubMed and have a Thomson Reuters Impact Factor and a community linked to it, attracting authors
will be extremely challenging.

July 1st, 2011: Opening the online submission system

With greater than 1200 journals using Elsevier Editorial System on a day to day basis, we have the
infrastructure to open a site for a new journal within weeks, provided that the Editor is available for
training and for reviewing the site.

January 1st, 2012: Launching the journal on ScienceDirect

The journal will be made available as an Open Access journal on ScienceDirect. Readers can freely
access the journal content when the authors pay a publication charge. For the first two years, we
would waive the publication fees, and after that, we’d gradually increase them to conform to the
Elsevier standard.

For a journal to launch on January 1st, 2012, a strict requirement is that a reasonable number of
articles should be accepted before November, 2011.

June 1st, 2014 at the earliest: Impact Factor and inclusion in PubMed

In the view of many scientists in the community, a journal has not really established itself until NIMH
has included the journal in PubMed and Thomson Reuters has calculated the journal’s first Impact
Factor. A requirement for the Impact Factor is that the journal was at least two years old at the start
of the year. As NIMH and Thomson Reuters are external parties, even if applications are timely
submitted, there is no guarantee that the journal will be accepted by these services. Nevertheless,
with thousands of journals indexed by Thomson Reuters and PubMed, Elsevier is very successful in
getting its journals indexed, and will therefore be a strong partner for CIRM in achieving these goals.

6.2.2 Expected development

The number of papers published by a new journal depends on a large number of factors, and as
such, it is always difficult to predict. However, from recent experience with the launches of Cell Stem
Cell and Stem Cell Research, both in 2007, some extrapolations can be made.

The number of published articles in Cell Stem Cell and Stem Cell Research is shown in the graph
below.

Page 9
 250

200

150
Cell Stem Cell
100 Stem Cell Research

50

0
2007 2008 2009 2010

We expect that the new journal will be able to count on community loyalty due to its link with the
CIRM. However, given the number of competing journals in the field that have already established
themselves, we do expect the journal will particularly in the beginning need to very actively and
strategically solicit submissions.

Assuming that, based on its affiliation with the CIRM, the journal will initially develop 50% faster
than Elsevier’s Stem Cell Research did, we can (optimistically) hope to publish roughly 15 papers by
the end of 2011.

Based on the developments of Stem Cell Research, the growth is plotted below. We plotted the data
from 2011 to 2019, where the expectations for 2015 and beyond are very much dependent on the
success in the earlier years, especially the release of the Impact Factor in 2014 (at the earliest).

Expected Number of papers in "Translational Stem Cel

Research"
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

The journal will appear as an electronic journal on ScienceDirect. It will be an Open Access model,
whereby the readers can freely access the journal content and the authors have to pay a publication
charge. The first two years we would waive the publication fees, and gradually increase them to
conform to the Elsevier standard.

Page 10
 Fee per manuscript
2011 0
2012 0
2013 Confidential
2014 Confidential
2015 Confidential
2016 Confidential
2017 Confidential
2018 Confidential
2019 Confidential

In this model, the journal will become self-sustainable after 2014, where we predict a small surplus.
The total investment associated with this journal launch up to 2014 is US$ xxxxxxx.

In 2011, we will mainly be looking at the costs associated with the marketing and the appointment
of the editorial team. In addition, we will be faced with costs associated with setting up the various
Web sites for the journal, i.e. submission, marketing, ScienceDirect. In 2012, we would still expect
start-up costs, and in addition, costs associated with marketing, and production of the articles. In the
current model we do not foresee any revenues from authors, those we will start to see in 2013,
where most start-up costs have been addressed, and the revenues from the authors will start to
make the journal self-sustainable.

Page 11
6.2.3 Conclusion

Elsevier launching a new journal in collaboration with CIRM is certainly do-able, and will create
recognition for CIRM. However, the launch of a new journal in any field has risks, especially in a field
like stem cells where there are so many journals already. Publishing the first issue at the start of
2012 is challenging but attainable, but the journal will not establish itself with an Impact Factor and
by Thomson Reuters than June 2014, and inclusion in PubMed a few months earlier.

Launching a new journal will always have inherent risks. Normally, Elsevier would perform market
research to see whether there is a need for a new title in the field. A new journal in stem cell
research will need to establish itself in an already very full field. It will not be immediately recognized
as a preferential space to publish the original research. While the journal will be featured on
ScienceDirect, it will not be immediately accepted by both PubMed and Thomson Reuters, and
therefore will struggle to acquire the first papers.

If it is CIRM’s goal to be aligned with a brand new journal then it would certainly be Elsevier’s goal,
too. Elsevier is very respectful to the institution’s mission, and would be up to the challenge of
making a successful launch in a crowded marketplace.

Page 12
6.3 Affiliation with an existing journal

Elsevier understands the need of CIRM to support the development of translation stem cell science,
and would like to offer an affiliation with our existing journal Stem Cell Research
(www.elsevier.com/locate/scr). This route offers instant exposure and credibility, as it would be a
partnership with a newly formed journal. The journal, while young, has already gone through the
difficult transition period of trying to recruit manuscripts without an impact factor. The editorial
board is energetic and willing to expand both in scope and consequently in representation on the
editorial board. There will be made ample space for ‘negative results’.

6.3.1 Current scope

The scope of the journal is currently as follows: Stem Cell Research is dedicated to publishing high-
quality manuscripts focusing on the biology and applications of stem cell research. Submissions to
Stem Cell Research, may cover all aspects of stem cells, including embryonic stem cells, tissue-
specific stem cells, cancer stem cells, developmental studies, stem cell genomes, and translational
research. Stem Cell Research publishes 6 issues a year.

The journal publishes

• Original articles
• Short reports
• Review articles
• Communications
• Methods and reagents articles

Stem Cell Research collaborates with journals published by Cell Press. Our editorial board is happy to
consider submissions reviewed at Cell Stem Cell or other Cell Press journals which are considered to
be scientifically sound, but not impactful enough for the readership of Cell Press journals. Authors
should include their Cell Press reviews (which will be confirmed by Cell Press) for fast-track
consideration. In SCR's fast track system, the SCR office will inform you within 3-5 days if the
manuscript warrants further consideration for publication. The editors reserve the right to (a) reject
the manuscript, (b) accept the manuscript with no further review, (c) send the manuscript out for
further review, (d) require revisions based on the Cell Press or further reviews.

6.3.2 Current editorial team

The editors of the journal are of international standing: Professor A. Elefanty ( Monash University,
Clayton, Australia) and Professor C.L. Mummery (Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum (LUMC),
Leiden, The Netherlands). The two Associate Editors, Professor Markus Grompe and Professor Paul
Simmons are based in the United States, at the Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland
and the University of Houston Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, respectively.

The international editorial board currently has three Editors based in California: Professor H. Mikkola
at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, M. Pera at the University of Southern
California, and last but not least Professor A.O. Trounson, based at the CIRM.

Page 13
6.3.3 Journal strengths

Stem Cell Research is currently covered by Thomson Reuters and PubMed. The Impact Factor is
3.368. The submission and publications of the journal are rapidly increasing. The journal shows a
very healthy development in the number of papers submitted and accepted. We see currently an
increase of 70% of submissions.

Stem Cell Research is also seeing a very rapid development of the usage. Over the last two years the
usage multiplied by a factor of three. The graph below shows the usage development in arbitrary
units. Over 6,000 accounts and/or institutes have access to Stem Cell Research on ScienceDirect.

Full text download development

- Stem Cell Research -

6.3.4 The launch in steps

We would promote the affiliation between Stem Cell Research and the CIRM in the same way as we
would promote a new journal, with the major difference that we can move much faster and have
from the start far more to offer to authors than any new journal would ever be able to offer: an
established journal already in PubMed, with an impact factor.

February 1st: Agreement of affiliation

We could immediately begin with a press release following a signed agreement.

March 1st: Revision of the aims and scope, editorial team and call for papers

The aims and scope of the journal can be revised anytime, and changes can technically be made
within a few days. The current journal editors have already indicated that they are willing to do this.
A call for papers (targeted to translational stem cell researchers) can go online within days. Also new
editors can be appointed within days.

May 1st: First accepted articles online

June 1st: Dedicated marketing campaign at ISSCR

Page 14
6.3.5 Expected development

By affiliating itself with CIRM, including opening up the scope to include negative results, we expect
to see an even faster increase in the number of published articles in the journal.

900
800
700
600
500 Additional articles due to
affiliation
400
Stem Cell Research
300
200
100
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

As shown in the graph above (by the red bars), in 2011 we expect an additional 50 articles, in 2012
more than 175 and in 2013 more than 400.

The articles will be included in the journal and will be published on ScienceDirect. The journal offers
authors the option of making their article freely available to all via the ScienceDirect platform at a
fee of $3,000. Authors do not have to take advantage of this option, and can opt for publishing their
article through the traditional subscription model. If the number of articles from the CIRM
collaboration becomes so large, CIRM and Elsevier can jointly decide to separate the two journals,
and have CIRM affiliate itself with both journals.

As we do expect to see dramatic increase in the number of articles published, we will see an increase
in the costs associated with the journal. As most of our journal subscription rates have been agreed
with libraries for a number of years, we will not be able to off-set this by additional subscription
revenues immediately. We have set these costs at a total of US$ xxxxx. The graph below shows how
these extra costs develop over time. These numbers stem predominantly from marketing and
production costs. There are very few star-upstart costs in this scenario.

Page 15
6.3.6 Conclusion

The advantages of a clear collaboration between CIRM and Stem Cell Research are manifold.

a) Immediate recognition by a large audience of the CIRM contribution to stem cell science
b) Large visibility of CIRM provided short articles on Stem Cell Research
c) There will be no start-up delays
d) The operation is very low risk and relatively low cost
e) If the collaboration proves successful, a sister journal can be launched, enabling CIRM to be
affiliated with two journals.

The writers of this proposal (Groothuis, Schwarz, and Wacek) have more than 40 years of publishing
experience, and they strongly encourage this second option as the more preferable option. It gives
CIMR instantaneous access to an established journal while at the same time having flexibility in
scope and editorial board personnel due to the journal’s relative youth. Through a lot of hard work
by the editorial and publishing team, this journal achieved a very respectable Impact Factor score in
its first year of eligibility. Alignment with this journal based on its current impact and stature in the
community, would give CIMR instant credibility in the publishing world.

Page 16
Appendix 1
Stem Cell Rev and Rep
DOI 10.1007/s12015-010-9181-y
The Proliferation and Differentiation of Stem Cell Journals
Paul R. Sanberg & Cesar V. Borlongan
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
Abstract As scientists position themselves in translating
the therapeutic potential of stem cells from laboratory to
clinical applications, publishing companies have taken this
rapidly evolving field as a unique opportunity to launch
new journals for dissemination of stem cell research. Over
the last decade, the significant increase in the number of
stem cell-based journals has created a conundrum. At stake
is the pressure for these new journals to build their
reputation by maintaining publication standards, while at
the same time attracting a cadre of stem cell researchers to
consider their journals as the publication of choice. We
discuss here a prophetic path of survival for these journals
which likely will closely mimic the core scientific and
translational value of stem cells, namely their capacity to
proliferate and differentiate into something meaningful!
Keywords Stem cells . Plasticity . Development .
Public policy
Nascent stem cells reside and, under certain pathologic
conditions, proliferate and even migrate to the site of injury
in the mammal [1]. Moreover, stem cells can be expanded,
differentiate into all germ lines, and hold therapeutic
P. R. Sanberg (*) : C. V. Borlongan (*)
Office of Research & Innovation, University of South Florida,
3702 Spectrum Boulevard, Suite 175,
Tampa, FL 33612-9444, USA
e-mail: psanberg@health.usf.edu
e-mail: cborlong@health.usf.edu
P. R. Sanberg : C. V. Borlongan
Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair,
College of Medicine,
12901 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, MDC78,
Tampa, FL 33612-4742, USA
potential for human and veterinary diseases [2], although
lab-to-clinic translational challenges remain [3–5]. These
unprecedented observations largely led to the birth of stem
cell-based regenerative medicine, ending the dogma that the
human body becomes stagnant in adulthood. A surge in
publications in stem cell biology and therapeutic potential
over the last decade has prompted an influx of new journals
catering to stem cells.
With the entry of new journals to the field, undoubtedly
the quality of science becomes a concern. Most articles find
a publishing home, which may dilute quality and continue
to stratify high and low impact journals. Most of these new
journals have little history because they are so new. How
should authors choose the journal in which to publish their
work, since the majority of these new journals have not
existed long enough to determine their quality? We suggest
following Good Publication Practices (GPP) across all
journals, particularly since stem cell articles seem prefer-
entially to get the attention of the worldwide media, as well
as to influence public policy. So many journals have “stem
cell” in their titles that it may be difficult for the public,
governments, and scientists outside the field to determine
the quality of what they are reading, and the caliber of stem
cell science and medicine.
Here, we review these stem cell journals, noting their
initial circulation year and impact factor, in an effort to
capture the status of this rapidly evolving field. We found
18 journals directly focused on publishing stem cell
research and another 16 journals with relevant overlaps to
stem cell research, although these lists are not exhaustive
(Fig. 1). In both lists, we did not include the more general
journals such as Nature (and sister journals), Science, Cell,
Neuron, PNAS, PLoS journals, BMC journals, Journal of
Neuroscience, Annals of Neurology, Blood, Circulation,
and American Journal of Transplantation, among others,
 Stem Cell Rev and Rep

Fig. 1 The rise of stem cell journals. Left table shows stem cell focused journals, while right table captures stem cell related journals. Bottom
panel corresponds to a graphical representation of the increase in stem cell journals since the early 1990s

although these journals have been top choices for the
publication of stem cell studies.
Interestingly, except for Stem Cells, Cloning and Stem
Cells, and Stem Cells and Development, initially released in
1993 and 2001, respectively, the rest of the stem cell-
focused journals have only been circulated from 2004.
Despite the short publication period, impact factors have
already been achieved by five of these journals, Cell Stem
Cell (23.563), Stem Cells (7.747), Stem Cell Reviews and
Reports (5.083), Stem Cells and Development (4.146), and
Cloning and Stem Cells (2.692). This may indicate that the
journals have produced highly cited articles and overall
give testament to the field of stem cells as a hot research
area, making landmark scientific discoveries. Traditional,
Stem Cell Rev and Rep
prestigious journals, such as Nature and Cell, have also
recognized the need for specialized venues to highlight
stem cell studies, with Nature Reports Stem Cells (final
issue in late 2009) initiating a rapid reports platform and
Cell devoting a subjournal, Cell Stem Cell.
A careful examination of the 2009 Journal Citation
Reports (JCR), published by Thomson Reuters, reveals six
journals bearing the title word “stem”, with both Stem Cell
Reviews and Stem Cell Reviews and Reports cited and
ranked 3rd and 6th, respectively. However, under the JCR
subject category of Cell & Tissue Engineering, Stem Cell
Reviews and Reports ranks at the bottom of 11 journals
despite garnering such high impact factor, which is likely
due to the recent change in the journal name from Stem Cell
Reviews to Stem Cell Reviews and Reports.
The proliferation of stem cell journals may be related
to the current trend of publishing open access and online
journals. Do we really need so many journals, which
potentially dampen publication standards? Some stem
cell-based medical enterprises around the world may
wish to exploit publications in lower-tier journals to
advance their clinical treatments, thus contributing to
some of the negativity associated with medical tourism.
As the stem cell field sets the pace for a formidable
emerging technology with direct clinical application, we
suggest that these new journals be continually assessed,
particularly in light of the delayed release of journal
metrics, which may not be available until a journal has
been published for as many as 3 years or more. Other
aspects of GPP, such as the publisher, editorial board
membership, manuscript review process, and associated
organizations, should be given more immediate exami-
nation. But as important, every potential author should
carefully evaluate the scientific soundness of studies
published by relatively young journals.
With new journal proliferation comes competition. It has
recently come to light that publishing stem cell studies has
been fierce and sometimes hostile, with allegations of
biased reviewers blocking competitors’ novel findings,
leading to significant delay in publication or outright
rejection (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8490291.stm). New
stem cell journals and traditional journals must amend their
policies to allow more transparent review and editorial
decision handling of stem cell and similar cutting edge
research. Stem cell research is one of the most entrepre-
neurial areas of medical science. It is therefore not
surprising that entrepreneurial publishers have developed
numerous publication outlets for this rapidly expanding
field. Ultimately, whether this stem cell journal proliferation
continues, and aids the field of stem cells to “differentiate”
into a more mature research arena, will depend on the
quality of peer review and science of stem cells.
Acknowledgements The authors thank Ms. Cate Bae for excellent
technical assistance in manuscript preparation. CVB is funded by
James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program.
Disclosures PRS and CVB serve as Editor and Associate Editor of
Cell Transplantation, respectively. PRS is also an Associate Editor of
Stem Cells and Development, while CVB is an Editorial Board
Member of Stem Cells.
References
1. Sanberg, P. R., Park, D. H., & Borlongan, C. V. (2010). Stem cell
transplants at childbirth. Stem Cell Reviews and Reports, 6, 27–30.
2. Vieira, N. M., Brandalise, V., Zucconi, E., Secco, M., Strauss, B. E., &
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