Letter From the JCTS Editor: Thank You and Farewell

Lars Berglund, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Clinical and Translational Science (JCTS)

My time as Editor-in-Chief for JCTS is ending this month and this letter will be my last in this capacity. It has truly been a wonderful time and a great ride over these 4 years. We at JCTS feel privileged to have had the support and confidence of the scientific community and we have done our best to live up to this. Over my time as EIC, the number of submitted manuscripts has more than doubled and we have launched a dozen thematic issues. Thanks to our excellent editorial board and our committed reviewers, we have managed to maintain the timeline for the response back to authors. I also want to underscore the important support from our publisher, Cambridge University Press, the JCTS administration and the ACTS staff which has been crucial in helping to increase the visibility as well as rapidly obtaining an Impact Factor for the journal. 

In reflecting back on lessons learned, my impression is that our ambition to serve as a home for the broad spectrum of clinical and translational science combined with the opportunity to highlight key areas through thematically focused issues has been proven a winning strategy. As society faces ever more complex problems, solutions will require integrated team science and involve multiple disciplines. Translational science is at a critical intersection of scientific domains and the importance of such a position will only increase. JCTS is a useful tool to highlight methodologies and best practices to address complex issues, and it also serves as a platform for findings and innovations across disciplines.

Having led one of the inaugural CTSA programs, I have witnessed a steady growth of areas critical to translational science such as informatics and community interactions. These areas will continue to represent important focus areas for JCTS. In an era where contributions of science to society are increasingly questioned, the importance of anchoring research efforts with the public will be of utmost importance and require a constant dialogue. Undoubtedly, new areas and initiatives will also emerge. As one example, the concept of AI, much discussed at present, is still early in its applications. Although many concerns have been voiced regarding its potential use, it could offer unparalleled opportunities to address problems that at present may seem insurmountable. AI modeling of very complex problems may allow solutions to be grasped more easily. For example, AI may give us a way to model climate adaptations that could help avoid a catastrophic global outcome as we continue our merry march towards the abyss. It might also allow modeling of ways to more efficiently use our considerable healthcare resources to better benefit society or to refine strategies to efficiently deal with future unanticipated pandemics. As the process to develop new drugs is costly and challenging to say the least, ways to better identify the most promising candidates for a given target as well as to predict potential side effects seems good candidates for AI efforts as well and efforts in that direction are already under way. There are obviously potential pitfalls that need to be better understood. I have no doubt that use of AI in clinical and translational science will be future JCTS thematic focus areas. In addition, there is no lack of additional important areas, such as creative educational strategies and clinical trial design, where JCTS can serve an important role as a source of dialogue and foster the exchange of ideas and innovations.

So obviously, we are only at the beginning of an exciting path. Building on a very positive trajectory and the wide-ranging support from the scientific community, I am convinced that JCTS will have a bright future. I wish Chris Lindsell, who will take over as the next Editor-in-Chief on January 1, all the best and look forward to exciting initiatives. To all our Contributors, Reviewers and Editorial Board Members, I thank you again for your strong encouragement and support and I will look back very fondly indeed on these years.   

Register Now for Translational Science 2024

ACTS and our partners are excited to head to Las Vegas for the first time ever for Translational Science 2024! 

Taking place at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino April 3-5, with pre-meeting activities on April 2, TS24 will feature three days of informative scientific sessions and ample opportunities to network with an engaged community of trainees, junior faculty, and senior scientists. 

Register now to save your spot at the premier translational science and clinical research meeting, hosted for the first time in Las Vegas. Don’t miss the chance to bump shoulders with colleagues new and old. 

Deadline Approaching! Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition at Translational Science 2024

Let the competition begin! Back by popular demand, we're bringing the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) to Translational Science 2024. The 3MT is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia that cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. We are honored to bring this prestigious competition to our Translational Science meeting.

This friendly competition for trainees and scholars will consist of three categories:

• Predoctoral Trainee
• Postdoctoral Trainee
• Early Career Faculty Scholar

Nominations are closing soon! Don't miss your chance to nominate one primary and one alternate trainee or scholar for each category to participate in the 3MT competition. Each CTSA Hub can submit their category representative submissions are due Wednesday, January 3. 

Please note, trainees and scholars are not required to have support from the TL1 or KL2 program to participate.

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