Journal Club in The Journal of Physiology

Abstract

This issue of The Journal of Physiology introduces a new type of submitted review article – Journal Club (Krediet & Ceridon, 2007; Plested et al. 2007). Our aim is to provide a forum for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows/trainees to discuss recent papers in The Journal. Journal Club articles will bridge the gap between our major retrospective Topical Review articles and the contemporary discussion of Journal content provided by Perspectives articles. Scientists at the start of their careers will have an opportunity to practise reviewing and writing skills and to become familiar with the breadth of content available in The Journal of Physiology. The success of this initiative depends on the willingness of young scientists to submit reviews and we invite regular readers of The Journal to encourage the postdocs in their labs to take advantage of this opportunity to publish in a major physiological journal1. Our Journal Club initiative fulfils one of the main aims of the Editorial Board of The Journal of Physiology, to increase interaction with readers. The Board constantly seeks to engage readers and authors with our mission to publish excellent physiology in all areas. Since 1999 we have brought new and exciting developments in physiology to our readers through Journal of Physiology Symposia. The Symposia are held at major international meetings and leading investigators in fast-moving fields are invited to report their latest work. The resulting Symposium issues of The Journal provide a collection of up-to-date, themed review and research articles on the topic. The continuing success of this venture will be built on in 2007 with an increased programme of Journal of Physiology Symposia2. Rapid publication of research is central to our mission. The Editorial Board strives to maintain the reputation of The Journal of Physiology for providing fast but thorough reviews of all papers, and over the past year editors have consistently reported to authors on their manuscripts within 4 weeks of submission. We also aim to keep abreast of technological developments in online publishing, regularly reviewing and updating features on our web site. Readers of The Journal of Physiology on HighWire will have seen that the home page has been redesigned and updated to provide more information and a contemporary look. You are encouraged to use the Feedback link to let us know if our site meets expectations.