Translational Pediatrics—Message from the Editor-in-Chief
2012 will be marked as the year of miraculous stories, we believe, one of which, as we are honored to announce, is the launch of Translational Pediatrics (Transl Pediatr, Print ISSN 2224-4336, Online ISSN 2224-4344), the first journal of its scope and coverage in the world with the strong support and the active involvement of our editorial members and colleague investigators in biomedical research and clinical pediatric practice.
Translational medicine involves multidisciplinary collaboration to bridge basic sciences and clinical practice, with the aim of enhancing patient care and preventive measures. The term ‘translational medicine’ does not always imply the use of basic research data for development of novel therapies or medical procedures that are subsequently tested on humans, because what we find in the laboratory does not fully reflect what happens in a real-world human body. More effort needs to be focused on understanding how humans react to treatment. De facto translational medicine is a two-way road from bench to bedside, bedside to bench. It is our belief that in terms of basic science, laboratory research should be focused on hot topics with greatest clinical relevance so that subsequent findings can be used immediately to make a difference in clinical practice. Clinicians need to tackle bedside problems at the bench but never be lost in the laboratory. Although late starting, translational medicine as an inter-disciplinary science is developing rapidly and widely. Sustainability of such development entails close collaboration between those working at laboratory benches and those at patient the bedsides. Unfortunately, the paradigms of basic and clinical science have often put these two disciplines at odds with each other, and communications between basic and clinical scientists is rare and sporadic. The ultimate goal of translational medicine is to provide a free platform for academic communication between both disciplines and consequently, to push forward the development of translational medicine, specifically in pediatric research.
As a new international, open-access, peer-reviewed journal, Translational Pediatrics is dedicated to providing a free forum for the rapid dissemination of latest discoveries in translational research pediatrics, publishing articles that focus on cutting-edge findings in this rapidly growing field and providing up-to-date, practical information on diagnosis, prevention and clinical investigations. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to, multimodality therapy, markers, imaging, biology, pathology, and technical advances in pediatrics. Every effort will be made to present our presenting our audience with a well-constructed, informative and educational journal.
The entire submission and review process of Translational Pediatrics is managed online with the Open Journal System (OJS) developed by Public Knowledge Project. This will greatly expedite the process from submission to editorial decision for an individual manuscript, and hence speed publication turnaround. The open-access policy of Translational Pediatrics will allow all readers from the medical science community to freely utilize material published in the journal. Importantly, these benefits will by no means compromise the quality of studies published in Translational Pediatrics, which will be formally peer-reviewed and are expected to meet the most rigorous standards of academic excellence.
Translational Pediatrics boasts a distinguished editorial board, bringing together a team of specialists highly experienced in pediatric treatment and research. Our editorial profile renders the journal truly international and in addition, the precious experience and state-of-the-art expertise of board members promises an exchange of ideas that can only make a significant difference to pediatric translational research in China and worldwide.
At this landmark moment for Translational Pediatrics, I would like to thank all our colleagues for their assistance and efforts to make possible the launch of this newborn journal. We are also grateful to our editorial board members and staff for their diligence in copy editing, paper processing and journal promotion. Indestructible confidence is always with us that Translational Pediatrics will undoubtedly make a great contribution to the work of both biomedical scientists and clinicians in the field of pediatrics.
