William Hancock on the Impact of the Journal of Proteome Research
Journal Interview, October 2011
A recent analysis of Essential Science IndicatorsSM from Clarivate showed that the Journal of Proteome Research is having a growing impact among journals in the field of Molecular Biology & Genetics. The current record for the journal in the database is 2,913 papers cited a total of 46,589 times between January 1, 2001 and June 30, 2011. The Journal of Proteome Research is an American Chemical Society publication that was founded in 2002. Its 2010 Impact Factor in Journal Citation Reports® is 5.460. Its current Editor-in-Chief is Dr. William S. Hancock, who is also the Bradstreet Chair in Bioanalytical Chemistry at the Barnett Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. |
Below, Hancock talks with ScienceWatch.com about the journal's history and citation achievements.
Did you expect the Journal of Proteome Research to become highly cited, or is this surprising to you?
I, as well as the Journal staff, am always ready for pleasant surprises. We feel that, however, with the support of the American Chemical Society (ACS) we have had a successful focus on becoming a leading journal in the new field of proteomics. Our mission has been to represent the full breadth of the field, ranging from functional genomics to metabonomics, or from human biology to agricultural proteomics. We also have a focus on our core competencies such as protein chemistry, analytical chemistry, and mass spectrometry.
How would you account for the high citation rate of the Journal of Proteome Research?
"An important function of the journal has been to help to guide the evolution of the field of proteomics with selected reviews, editorials, and interactions with the authors."
Our citation rate is party due to our strong editorial team as well as the excellence of the Publication division of ACS that has drawn authors with high quality research to submit to the journal. Also we have a strong association with the Human Proteome Organisation (HUPO) and embrace their global vision of the contribution of proteomics to human health.
Would you give us a brief history of the journal?
Recently we passed our 10-year point, and in the last year published more papers than combined for the two other leading journals in the field (Molecular & Cellular Proteomics and Proteomics). In a field of fundamental importance to biology and medicine, we are proud to have achieved this rapid growth from a start-up journal and to have reached the point where our publication represents a significant part of the field. Also we have achieved this growth with a continued high impact factor.
To maintain a broad focus in both subject area and internationally we have appointed Associated Editors who represent a broad range of subject areas as well geographical distribution. In addition, a majority of submissions now originate from Europe and Asia.
What historical factors have contributed to the success of the Journal of Proteome Research?
As well as a strong team of Associate Editors, members of the Editorial Advisory Board, reviewers and authors, key aspects of our success have been the rapid growth in the field of proteomics, continual technical innovation in fields such as mass spectrometry, the development of new publishing tools, the dissemination of our material by diverse resources such as ACS electronic downloads, PubMed, and Google.
Have there been specific developments in the fields served by the Journal of Proteome Research that may have contributed?
I have already mentioned the field of mass spectrometry but also the rapid evolution in NMR instrumentation, genomic information such as RNASeq for the study of the transcriptome and the huge rise in medical and biological information data bases, such as funded by the National Cancer Institute.
What, in your view, is this journal's main significance or contribution in the field of Molecular Biology & Genetics?
"Our mission has been to represent the full breadth of the field, ranging from functional genomics to metabonomics, or from human biology to agricultural proteomics."
To present an integrated view of proteomics that includes all aspects of the global study of proteins.
How do you see your field(s) evolving in the next few years?
A much closer integration of proteomics with the flood of data coming out of genomic research, such as the 1000 Genomes Project and ENCODE. In addition, we plan to promote the contribution of agriculture proteomics to the rise of crop improvements necessary for solving the emerging food crisis. We also believe proteomics will make a contribution to the study of infectious diseases in terms of understanding disease mechanisms.
What role do you see for your journal?
An important function of the journal has been to help to guide the evolution of the field of proteomics with selected reviews, editorials, and interactions with the authors. This is a challenging exercise with the rapid evolution in biological knowledge and the increasing power of the analytical methods in which we have had to work closely with authors in terms guiding their submissions to studies which represents innovative and high-quality research.
Journal of Proteome Research
Dr. William S. Hancock, Editor-in-Chief
American Chemical Society, publishers
JOURNAL OF PROTEOME RESEARCH'S MOST CURRENT MOST-CITED PAPER IN ESSENTIAL SCIENCE INDICATORS:
Peng JM, et al., "Evaluation of multidimensional chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/LC-MS/MS) for large-scale protein analysis: the yeast proteome," J. Proteome Res. 2(1): 43-50, January-February 2003 with 741 cites. Source: Essential Science Indicators from Clarivate.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
- About the cover image above: Salmonellosis is often caused by the contamination of food with the pathogenic Salmonella enterica. The 2.96 angstrom-resolution structure of a transcriptional regulator from which regulates the expression of a number of genes involved in virulence in this pathogen is depicted in front of a an artistic rendering of bacteria. The protein (PDB Protein ID: 3q5f) was resolved by Dolan, K. T.; Duguid, E. M.; He, C. J. Biol. Chem. 2011, 286, 22178–22185. Background image: SHUTTERSTOCK.
KEYWORDS: PROTEOMICS, FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS, METABONOMICS, HUMAN BIOLOGY, AGRICULTURAL PROTEOMICS, PROTEIN CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, MASS SPECTROMETRY, AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, HUMAN PROTEOME SOCIETY, IMPACT FACTOR, BROAD FOCUS, GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION, EDITORIAL TEAM, TECHNICAL INNOVATION, NMR INSTRUMENTATION, RNASEQ, TRANSCRIPTOME, 1000 GENOMES PROJECT, ENCODE, CROP IMPROVEMENTS, FOOD CRISIS, INFECTIOUS DISEASES, DISEASE MECHANISMS.
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