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in-cites,
March 2004
Citing URL: http://www.in-cites.com/journals/DevelopmentalCell.html
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 ccording to a recent analysis of the
ISI
Essential
Science Indicators
Web product, the journal Developmental
Cell
is having a growing impact in the field of Molecular Biology
& Genetics. Presently, the journal has 327 papers cited a total of
3,161 times to date in this field. In the interview below, editor
Deborah Sweet talks about Developmental Cell’s
citation
record.
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Did you expect Developmental Cell to become highly cited, or
is this surprising to you?
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“Over the past few years, cell biologists have been making increasingly frequent forays into developmental biology, and vice versa, and this has meant that the two communities now have a greater interest in interaction and cross-disciplinary thinking than they did 10 or 15 years ago.”
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As Developmental Cell is a new journal, launched in July
2001, I am obviously pleased about its strong first impact factor and
its overall citation performance. However, it would be disingenuous of
me to say that I am really surprised. The launch of Developmental
Cell built on the strong tradition of quality that is the hallmark
of all Cell Press journals. In addition, Developmental Cell
covers growing fields in which there is currently strong interest—cell
biology, developmental biology, and the interface between the two.
Discussions with scientists in a variety of areas had led us to the
conclusion that the community was looking for a high-quality journal
to cover the growing interaction between these two disciplines.
Bearing all these points in mind, we were confident of Developmental
Cell’s value to the community and thus had high hopes that it
would be well received.
What historical factors have contributed to the success of Developmental
Cell?
As mentioned above, it seems clear to me that the strong tradition
of high-quality publishing at Cell Press, and the experience we have
gained from that, played a significant role in the successful launch
of Developmental Cell. I also think that Cell Press’s overall
strong background in both cell biology and developmental biology meant
that Developmental Cell was greeted with a higher degree of
interest and confidence than many other new journals enjoy. I believe
that these two factors, combined with the long-standing strength of
the research community that Developmental Cell serves, allowed Developmental
Cell to "hit the ground running" and become a
well-established resource within a relatively short space of time.
Have there been specific developments in the fields served by Developmental
Cell that may have contributed?
I don’t think there have been any specific field developments
that have made a significant contribution, but the overall trends
certainly have. Developmental Cell is designed to capture the
interest of both cell biologists and developmental biologists as the
interaction between these two disciplines increases, and I think its
success has to be a reflection of community interest and activity in
these areas. Over the past few years, cell biologists have been making
increasingly frequent forays into developmental biology, and vice
versa, and this has meant that the two communities now have a greater
interest in interaction and cross-disciplinary thinking than they did
10 or 15 years ago. Developmental Cell has therefore come at a
time when there is a need for a journal that bridges this gap, and
this is the role that we intend it to fill.
How do you see your field(s) evolving in the next few years?
More of the same! I think that as technologies advance our ability
to study developmental processes at a cellular level, and to apply
what we learn from cell biological analysis to whole organism
contexts, will only increase. So, I think the overall future looks
very bright. I also think that areas such as evolutionary biology, or
at least understanding phylogenetic developmental differences, will
benefit from more extensive molecular and functional analysis, so we
will be able to study these issues at a similar level as well. The
combination of cellular and developmental research also has potential
therapeutic benefits, particularly in areas such as stem cell biology
and regeneration. Given the obvious interest in health-related
outcomes, I think areas such as these will grow in interest as we
begin to understand them more.
What role do you see for your journal?
As journal publishers, our raison d’être is to provide a
forum and mechanism for effective communication of scientific
advances. We do this by overseeing a reviewing and selection process
that enables us to focus on publishing advances that are of clear
significance to the field. We also have the ability to highlight
upcoming areas and to summarize recent advances in our review
material. To my mind, Developmental Cell’s role for the
future is to continue to strive to make a valuable contribution to the
overall process of communication of science. I hope that, as a
cross-disciplinary forum, the journal will also promote and even
enhance interaction between the different disciplines that it covers,
as well as attract interest from researchers working in other areas.
Ultimately our aim is to both showcase and facilitate important
scientific progress, and I look forward to working with the scientific
community towards this overall goal in the coming years.
Developmental Cell
Deborah Sweet, editor
Cell Press, publishers
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in-cites, March 2004
Citing URL: http://www.in-cites.com/journals/DevelopmentalCell.html
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cites
