2. • AJP Lung is dedicated to publishing high-quality original and review articles
on all aspects of lung physiology, biochemistry and cell biology, as well as,
results of hypothesis driven clinical trials.
• We believe that all manuscripts are worthy of review.
We strive to provide timely and in depth reviews that will be helpful to
the authors
The Associate Editors synthesize the major comments of all reviewers
and tell the authors know what needs to be done for a paper to move
forward.
• We aim to increase the visibility of AJP-Lung in the lung community by:
Issuing calls for papers in timely areas of research
Sponsoring and organizing symposia in national meetings
Highlighting the best papers in our electronic media
Urging our colleagues and students to publish their papers in AJP-Lung
My Philosophy and Plans for AJP-Lung
The American Journal of Physiology Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology:
“The best place to publish basic, translational, and hypothesis-driven clinical
lung research” January 1, 2012: L1-L3.
3. Deputy Editor
Y. S. Prakash, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Editors
James F. Collawn, Ph.D.
Lester Kobzik, M.D.
Wolfgang M. Kuebler, M.D.
Dolly Mehta, Ph.D.
Rory E. Morty, Ph.D.
Rakesh P. Patel, M.D. (till 7/1/2015)
Irina Petrache, M.D. (new as of 1/1/2015)
Larissa Akimi Shimoda, Ph.D. (new as of 1/1/2015)
Kurt R. Stenmark, Ph.D. (till 7/1/2015)
The Associate Editors: We added two
Associate Editors as of 1/2015.
We are interested in recruiting two more associate editors
as of July 2015. We welcome nominations and self-
nominations in under-represented areas of lung research
4. Major Challenges for AJP-Lung on 1/1/2012
1. The impact factor was lower that of other
lung journals publishing basic science articles
2. A continuous decline in the number of
submitted research manuscripts since 2010
3. It took too long to reach the first decision on
research manuscripts
4. The visibility of AJP-Lung among junior
members of the pulmonary community
lagged behind other journal
5. Impact Factor
2010 2011 2012 2013
ARRCCM* 9.09 11.08 11.04 11.986
THORAX* 6.525 6.84 8.376 8.562
ERJ* 5.922 5.895 6.355 7.125
AJRCMB 4.426 5.125 4.148 4.109
AJP-Lung 4.137 3.662 3.523 4.041
Resp. Res 3.127 3.336 3.642 3.38
* Publish mainly clinical articles (basic science article should contain
data on human subjects)
Major Accomplishment:We have closed
the IF gap and moved ahead of competitors
6. Very good news!!
According to the H-index (“an index that attempts
to measure both the productivity and impact of
the published work of a scientist or scholar or
journal”), we are currently the top ranked journal,
publishing non-clinical pulmonary research
articles.
http://www.scimagojr.com/ journalrank. php?
category=2740)
7. Very good news!!
• There was an 8% increase in research
manuscripts submitted in 2014 as compared
to 2013. This is the first time in four years that
there was an increase in submitted
manuscript (see next slide).
• As of the end of February 2015, there is a 38%
increase of research manuscripts compared to
2014. Please keep them coming!!!
9. Major Accomplishment
We decreased the time to first decision
(Thank you Amy McEver)
# days to first decision
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
31.6 29.45 23.14 22.61 22.32
Acceptance rates for research man.
45% 51% 51% 61% 51%
Range among AEs in 2014: 16-26 days
10. • Our editorial assistant, Ms. Amy McEver, contacts
reviewers after 14 days from the original assignment,
reminding them that their review is due.
• If the review has not been received by 16-18 days, we
contact the AE and ask her (him) whether they prefer to
contact the reviewer or whether the Editor should.
• Consistently, the reviews are received within a day or so
after a personal email from the editor.
• Most important: it takes less than ten days (on average)
to reach a decision on a revised manuscript.
Our Editorial Policy: Chasing Reviewers
11. # of Citations of AJP-Lung Articles
(as of 2/1/2015; Google Scholar)
Edit. Persp. Res. Res. Reviews
CFP
2012 5 23 12 10 27
(1-24 ) (1-72) (68-2) (32-3) (47-12)
2013 2 11 6 5 13
(5-0) (29-4) (29-0) (14-1) (24-7)
CFP: Calls for Papers
Means (Max-Min)
12. 2012-2013 2012-2013 2013 2013
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
# of man.
Published
# of man.
Published in
AJP-Lung
#Total Manuscripts
Published
# Total Manuscripts
Published in AJP-
Lung
9 0 4 0
8 4 5 2
13 1 9 1
18 2 7 1
9 1 2 1
12 3 7 3
22 0 10 0
23 5 10 1
30 4 12 1
23 10 11 5
Total 167.00 30.00 77.00 15.00
% 17.96 19.48
Publications by AE/Editor:
Total vs. published in AJP-Lung
13. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2014 Dec
15;307(12):L911-6. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00330.2014.
Epub 2014 Nov 7
.
A critical review of the American Journal of
Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology:
2012-2015. Matalon S PMID: 25381028
Major Accomplishments
A list of major accomplishments and challenges
are listed in a recent publication by the editor
14. Major Accomplishments
(PMID: 25381028)
• Published nine articles on the history of pulmonary
medicine (eight of them by Dr. John West).
• Established two new features with the consent of the
APS Publications Committee:
Rapid Reports, to allow the rapid dissemination of new
and important findings in the absence of a complete
story); and
Innovative Methodology articles, which describe novel
methods and techniques.
15. • Established a Facebook Page (http://ajplung.physiology.org/) and
a Blog (http://bit.ly/1gnt61m) dedicated to the promotion of AJP-
Lung. We highlight papers and post items of interest to the
pulmonary community
• Recognized the outstanding contributions of “junior” authors by
establishing “The most Outstanding Paper by a Junior
Investigator” awards; there were three awards in 2012 and five in
2013. Each award carried a $500 price funded by the Editor’s
fungible budget. Awardees were expected to contribute an
original article or review to AJP-Lung within a year from
receiving their award.
• Established the Hermann Rahn (2014) and Usha Prakash (2015)
awards for outstanding papers published in AJP-Lung using
private funds.
Winners of these awards for 2014 and 2015 are listed in our
Facebook page.
Major Accomplishments (PMID: 25381028)
16. • Assembled and posted a list of the most highly cited
papers published in AJP-Lung during the last 20 years
(http://ajplung.physiology.org/front.most-cited)
• Published two retrospective reviews (edited by Dr. Lester
Kobzik) by the senior authors of two of the most highly
cited papers.
• Published four Physiology in Medicine reviews
• Published six state-of-the-art reviews from Associate
Editors highlighting and integrating findings in research
manuscripts in AJP-Lung, with what was published
elsewhere
• Published two “position” papers, along with a commentary
from Dr. Weibel, intended as primers on quantitative lung
morphology (edited by Dr. Morty).
Major Accomplishments (PMID: 25381028)
17. • In an effort to increase the visibility of AJP-Lung and attract more papers,
we sponsored three symposia in international societal meetings.
• Funds from these symposia were provided by the fungible accounts of the
Editor and Associate Editors. Invited speakers were encouraged (but not
required) to submit manuscripts on the topic of their talk to AJP-Lung. (see
https://www. Facebook. com/AJPLung for more details)
EB 2014
1. The Enigma Variations: The Many Faces of the Myofibroblast in Fibrotic
Disease. Rachel C. Chambers (Assoc. Ed.), Paul F. Mercer (Editorial Board
Member)
2. Bioengineering the Cardiopulmonary System: From Molecules to
Mechanics. YS Prakash, Kurt R. Stenmark. (A perspective with contributions
from the invited speakers as well as summarizing the impact of papers
published in AJP-Lung in response to the calls for papers is currently in
preparation by Drs. Prakash and Stenmark).
Association of University Anesthesiologists, 61st Annual Meeting
http://auahq.org/aua-brochure-final-3-25-14.pdf
3. Plenary Session, “Lung Injury Remodeling and Repair.” Research
Symposium by Sadis Matalon, Prakash YS (Deputy Editor, and Charles W.
Emala, Editorial Board Member)
Major Accomplishments (PMID: 25381028)
18. • I send detailed reports on the state-of-AJP-Lung to AEs every
two months and to members of the Editorial Board twice a year
and solicited input on several issues. Dr. Hershel Raff was
copied on these emails. The AEs and I meet every year at EB
and hold web-conferences quarterly. I always seek advice from
the AEs on all new initiatives.
• Thirty five senior members (who did not have time to review
manuscripts) with ten mid-career scientists
• Ten phenomenal mid-career scientists joined our editorial
board. All members of the editorial board are expected to
accepte at least 50% of invitations to review manuscripts and
publish one article per year in AJP-Lung.
• I appointed five senior members of the pulmonary community
as Consulting Editors to provide sage advice on all issues
(see http://www.the-aps.org/mm /Publications /Journals/AJP-
Lung/Ed-Board for a complete list of AEs, CEs and EB members)
Major Accomplishments
19. Looking forward: Increasing the upward momentum
Increase the number of submitted manuscripts
New Calls for Papers on timely, clinically relevant, and
controversial topics (please see
http://ajplung.physiology.org/ for existing calls for
papers. New ideas are always welcome.
We have invited a number of outstanding scientists to
contribute reviews, perspectives and Physiology in
Medicine articles to be published in 2015. Please
remember that we welcome ideas for reviews.
Each Editorial Board Member must submit at least
one paper per year.
20. • Institute a new feature (“Paper of the Month”) to better
recognize outstanding papers. This paper will be
highlighted on our Facebook and blog pages with a brief
commentary.
• Seek input from the Consulting Editors on perceived
areas of weaknesses and recruit a new AEs to fill the
gap
• Continue the tradition of providing fair, thorough, helpful,
and timely reviews of all articles submitted to AJP-Lung.
Decrease the time to first submission under 20 d.
• Continue to promote AJP-Lung as the best place to
publish articles on all aspects of lung research.
Looking forward: Increasing the upward momentum
21. Thank you to:
• The Associate Editors
• The Consulting Editors
• The Editorial Board members
• Amy McEver, Editorial Assistant
• Drs. Hershel Raff and Curt D, Sigmund, Chairs of the APS
Publication Com.
• Ms. Rita Scheman, Head of Publications
• Christina Bennett, Ethics
• Michael Gentry, Online Production Editor
• Ellyn Kestnbaum, Journal Supervisor
• Eric Pesanelli, Editorial Art Manager
• Gil Ebner, Peer Review Manager
• Mona Trang, Peer Review Coordinator