Editorial pubs.acs.org/crt
On a High Note 2011 was a great year for Chemical Research in Toxicology (CRT). Submissions increased 20% enabling us to publish a diverse cross-section of topics and manuscript types (Articles, Rapid Reports, Reviews, Perspectives, Chemical Profiles, InThis-Issues, and Spotlights). Regular readers have no doubt noticed this variety along with the full implementation of our new journal format, which is very attractive and information laden. This will continue to be a productive platform for the introduction of new features to provide more value to our readers. CRT published a special series on Systems Toxicology and assembled three Thematic Compilations on Protein Modification by Endogenous Lipid Electrophiles, Computational Toxicology, and Arsenic Toxicity to go along with previous compilations on Nanotoxicology, Reactive Drug Metabolites, Chemistry and Biology of DNA Damage, and Immunotoxicology. The Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Index Impact Factor for CRT increased to 4.17, our highest value ever. Our Impact Factor has been on a steady climb over the past five years, and its percentage increase over that period is one of the highest among related journals. This increase represents the product of a lot of hard work by our editors, our staff, our reviewers and, of course, our authors. Given the quality and breadth of what we are currently publishing, I expect the Impact Factor to continue to climb. The impact factor is a convenient number, but it provides only a partial picture of the standing of CRT in the scientific community. A more informal evaluation is provided by the papers cited in presentations in seminars and at scientific conferences, and on that score, CRT is doing very well, indeed. At the meetings I attend, many of the papers listed on slides are references to research content published in CRT. There is no doubt that the journal is the major venue to publish chemical and mechanistic toxicology. The editors and staff of CRT work very hard to ensure rigorous review in a timely fashion. On average, we secure three reviews for each submitted manuscript and return an initial decision within 23 days. The turnaround time for Rapid Reports is even more impressive, and there are multiple examples of Reports that were published online within three weeks after they were submitted. All authors have the choice of posting their research content published in the journal as Just Accepted Manuscripts; often these are published within 24 hours of their acceptance in the approved manuscript format. This further accelerates the speed of communication of individual articles to the community. This year represents the 25th year of publication of CRT, and to mark the occasion, the ACS Publications is initiating the Chemical Research in Toxicology Young Investigator Award. This will be an annual award to honor the contributions of a young individual who has had a major impact on research in chemical toxicology. The award winner will present in a Division of Chemical Toxicology session at the Fall ACS National Meeting, will be invited to submit a manuscript to CRT, and will receive a $3000 honorarium plus up to $1500 in travel costs to the meeting. In addition to this wonderful new initiative to mark © 2012 American Chemical Society
the 25th anniversary, we are planning a series of special features in the journal. Be on the lookout throughout the year. CRT is progressing from strength-to-strength. We are publishing the most diverse, high quality science of any time of our existence, and we have active participation from authors and reviewers around the world. Submissions are at an all-time high, and so is our Impact Factor. The journal has strong momentum and is poised to move to a much higher level. Given the very healthy state of CRT, this seems a good time to turn over the editorial reins to a new generation of chemical toxicologists. I will be stepping down as Editor-in-Chief at the end of my term in 2012. As much as I love editing this journal and interacting with my colleagues in the scientific community, there are some other projects I’d like to pursue. Also, I feel that the journal will benefit from new leadership and fresh ideas. A search for a new Editor-in-Chief is underway and once that individual has been named, our editorial team will work to ensure a smooth transition. With the support of the American Chemical Society, we have built an outstanding journal with a strong brand and tremendous scientific impact. We look forward to watching it grow under the next generation of leaders. Lawrence J. Marnett
Published: January 13, 2012 1
dx.doi.org/10.1021/tx200522h | Chem. Res. Toxicol. 2012, 25, 1−1
