Premium
Its all in the name
Author(s) -
Goding Colin
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
pigment cell and melanoma research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1755-148X
pISSN - 1755-1471
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-148x.2007.00436.x
Subject(s) - computational biology , biology
While the leopard may not be able to change its spots, a journal may change its title. After 20 years, Pigment Cell Research has gracefully metamorphosed into Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research*. The name change is driven by the desire that this journal will engage more actively with members of the melanoma community and reflects the adoption last year of Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research as the official journal of the Society for Melanoma Research (SMR). As I mentioned in previous editorials, the advantages of the association with the SMR are many, not least that this journal becomes a focus for the entire pigment cell research community irrespective of whether one works on basic pigment cell biology or pigment cell-related diseases such as melanoma. Given that Pigment Cell Research perhaps did not have as high an awareness among melanoma researchers as it might have deserved, it is anticipated that the new name will raise its profile and thereby contribute to increasing its readership. Certainly the journal achieved a considerable boost via its presence at the recent high profile SMR meeting in New York and was pleased to sponsor a poster prize awarded to Suzie Chen for her work on the metabotropic glutamate receptor in melanoma, a model that will no doubt become increasingly important. While this journal recognizes the importance of the link with the SMR, the historic association with the International Federation of Pigment Cell Societies is equally important and has underpinned the increasing success of the journal over recent years. Given that Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research aims to foster interest and promote collaboration across the full spectrum of pigment cell biology, the joint IFPCS ⁄ SMR meeting in Sapporo in May 2008 will represent an excellent forum to further raise the awareness of this journal as well facilitate inter-society communication. The desire to engage more fully with the melanoma community is reflected in the series of high quality reviews on different aspects of melanoma biology published over the past 2 years in Pigment Cell Research. This continues in the first issue of Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research with two reviews, one on melanoma stem cells and the other on the genetics underpinning the early stages of melanoma progression.