The first year of SBiRM was marked by significant steps towards becoming a well-respected journal in the field. I would like to thank our two hundred plus reviewers for the time and effort that they committed to peer-review to help ensure the quality of the journal. Our acceptance rate for publication has been kept to less than 30% with most manuscripts having undergone significant revision. This has contributed to a strong foundation and a quality journal highlighted by our ever increasing impact factor. This included the recognition for publishing a ground breaking study from Dr. With et al., entitled “A pilot study associating urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites and semen quality” in Volume 54(3):143–154, that received wide recognition in the Reproductive Toxicology community.
We continue to implement new technologies and features in response to our readership and the electronic age. From a nuts and bolts perspective this has included the launch of SBiRM-cite as an integral part of our peer-review process. This tool examines all manuscripts for cases of “unintended duplication.” It has been incorporated as part of the Editorial Board pre-review process before considering a manuscript for formal external review. This was an immediate response to an issue raised by one of our reviewers. To my knowledge SBiRM is the first journal to implement this procedure as part of an initial review process.
I would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Renneé Martin's laboratory for providing their work illustrating the formation of synaptonemal complexes in pachytene spermatocytes for the 2008 cover. Each year we implement a new cover and beginning with this issue, I would like to recognize Drs. David Miller and David Iles, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK for their micrograph showing the localization of histone H4 and protamine 1 in human and mouse spermatozoa.
What can we look forward to in 2009? The first issue of 2009 saw the publication of the program from the ICA Satellite Symposium—Sperm DNA Damage: from Research to Clinic. We encourage meeting organizers to consider Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine as a forum for their symposia abstracts or full papers. We have initiated a free listing service for meetings, symposiums, and courses and provide a forum for postdoctoral and faculty position announcements. For consideration for inclusion, applicable material can be sent directly to [email protected].
You will notice that the breadth of the journal continues to increase as it embraces a diverse and broad range of topics in both male and female reproductive biology. We continue to advance the recognition of Systems Biology and the importance of the varied directions that the systems approach can take. As the term “systems biology” becomes appreciated much like when the term “molecular biology” was first introduced, it is important to not lose sight of how easily its value can be lost. One of our goals for the journal is to keep the systems biology focus at the forefront and thereby encourage cross-fertilization providing an opportunity to nurture the discovery of the often unexpected and its translation to personalized medicine. As outlined in the journal's Aims and Scope: “The journal highlights the use of systems approaches including genomic, cellular, proteomic, metabolomic, bioinformatic, molecular, and biochemical, to address fundamental questions in reproductive biology, reproductive medicine, and translational research.”
As we move forward, we plan to introduce special topics dedicated to collections of timely reviews. Other formats can be considered and you are encouraged to contact the journal in this regard at [email protected]. I always welcome your suggestions for ways the journal may better meet the needs of the community. On behalf of Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine (SBiRM), I invite you to submit your work at http://www.informaworld.com/SBiRM